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Michael John Warren is a multi-Emmy-nominated writer, director, showrunner, and executive producer celebrated for his visually stylish, story-driven films and docuseries. His extensive expertise has fueled a prolific career that effortlessly spans from intimate, single-camera documentaries to expansive event films. His work frequently explores themes of music, sports, Broadway, true crime, culture, and live performance. Tony, Grammy, and Olivier Award-winning writer Steven Sater lauded Warren as "a master storyteller" following his recent projects. In 2024, USA Today named him a "visionary," while The L.A. Times described his work as "stirring," The Washington Post as "spectacular," and The New York Times as "stupendously entertaining."
His latest feature documentary, FREEDIVER, chronicles the gripping journey of the world’s greatest living freediver attempting five death-defying world records in one season. Variety praised the film, which Warren wrote, directed, and executive produced, as "tender and psychologically absorbing." The visually stunning documentary holds a "100%" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Warren's acclaimed series LOLLA: THE STORY OF LOLLAPALOOZA opened the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, premiering to a sold-out audience and rave reviews, quickly becoming one of the festival's most talked-about entries. Paramount and Viacom released the series worldwide in May 2024. The Playlist called it "a terrifically watchable snapshot of an unpredictable, combustible, vibrant, and once-in-a-lifetime period in music culture."
In 2022, Warren directed the much-praised feature SPRING AWAKENING: THOSE YOU'VE KNOWN for HBO. Centered around a 2021 reunion concert, the film delves into the Broadway hit's unlikely ascent to sweeping the 2007 Tony Awards and the emotional resonance of its controversial themes with the original cast. Variety described it as "an unflinching look at the reality of tackling such heavy material at a young age," ABC Radio hailed it as "masterful," and it holds a "100%" critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Warren debuted as a director with what many consider the greatest hip-hop film ever made: Jay-Z's FADE TO BLACK (2004). Since then, he has profiled major music icons in projects such as DRAKE: BETTER THAN GOOD ENOUGH (2010), NICKI MINAJ: MY TIME NOW (2010), NICKI MINAJ: MY TIME AGAIN (2015), and VH1's HEAVY: THE STORY OF METAL (2006). He currently has several music-related projects in development.
Partnering with Radical Media, Warren broke new ground by filming numerous iconic Broadway shows. In 2008, he captured the first full-show, multi-camera Broadway performance with RENT: FILMED LIVE ON BROADWAY. The success of this endeavor led DreamWorks to follow suit, with Warren directing SHREK THE MUSICAL: LIVE ON BROADWAY (2013). In 2015, he was invited to film scenes from the Tony Award-winning musical HAMILTON shortly before its Broadway debut. This footage featured prominently in PBS's Great Performances: Hamilton's America, 60 Minutes, the 2016 Tony Awards broadcast on CBS, and other outlets. OH HELLO ON BROADWAY, starring Nick Kroll and John Mulaney and directed by Warren, premiered on Netflix in June 2017 to glowing reviews, with Rotten Tomatoes calling it a "triumph."
Warren served as showrunner for Amazon Prime's groundbreaking true-crime series FREE MEEK (2019), which exposed systemic corruption and racism within the Philadelphia Police Department and Pennsylvania Judicial System. The series uncovered new evidence that led to Meek Mill's release and the dismissal of charges that had kept him incarcerated for twelve years. FREE MEEK was nominated for an NAACP Image Award and holds a "100%" critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
His work also extends into sports. In 2007, Warren directed KOBE MENTU, a Nike documentary series in Mandarin featuring Kobe Bryant, viewed by tens of millions in China. He was a key creative force behind FRIDAY NIGHT TYKES (2014), a controversial series revealing the intensity of youth football in Texas. In 2016, he directed FEARLESS, a gripping Netflix series about professional bull riding, which holds a "94%" audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes and earned three Emmy nominations, including Warren's second nod for "Outstanding Long Form Editing." In 2018, he showran and directed BEST SHOT, an IDA-nominated basketball documentary series executive produced by LeBron James, premiering on YouTube Premium and ESPN. That same year, he directed the Eleven Madison Park episode of the Emmy-nominated Netflix series 7 DAYS OUT, which chronicled the world’s top restaurant undergoing a major renovation under intense time pressure.
Warren has directed projects worldwide, including Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Australia, Europe, South America, and North America. He has collaborated with top industry companies such as Netflix, HBO, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video, ABC, CBS, PBS, ESPN, YouTube, AMC, MTV, VH1, Esquire Network, USA Network, BET, Sony, Paramount, Viacom, DreamWorks, Universal, Warner Bros, Skydance, Picture Start, Boardwalk Pictures, FunMeter, RadicalMedia, MakeMake, Brighton Maintenance, Bron Studios, Vox Media, North Of Now, IPC, 441 Productions, 25/7 Productions, C3, Heineken, Nike, Reebok, Wieden+Kennedy, and BBDO. He is a proud member of the Directors Guild of America and the Television Academy and is represented by WME.
