Gail Mancuso

Gail Mancuso started her TV career as an usher on television talk shows. By 1984, she started her tenure as script supervisor on 46 episodes of the cable comedy "Brothers" (Showtime 1984-89). In 1989, she had her first assignment as associate director for a visionary show that tackled the complexities of working class America, "Roseanne" (ABC 1988-97). After one of the show's directors left in 1991, she had the chance to become a director herself, and continued with the show until 1996, at which point she'd helmed 51 episodes.In 1994 Mancuso branched out by completing six episodes of the quirky Fran Drescher hit that drew on Yiddish theater traditions, "The Nanny" (CBS 1993-99). In 1995 the director worked on two episodes of "Almost Perfect" (CBS 1995-96), and by 1997 she had directed seven episodes of Ellen DeGeneres' first flirtation with primetime, "Ellen" (ABC 1994-98). The show made history towards the end of its run when Ellen -- both the performer and the character -- came out of the closet. During this time the director also began a long relationship with the high-profile comedy hit "Friends" (NBC 1994-2004), directing 14 episodes between 1995 and 1999. In 1998 Mancuso directed her first TV movie, a story of high school students coming of age in the 1970s called "1973," starring up-and-coming actors Ben Foster and James Franco. In 1999 she directed five episodes of the Tony Shalhoub and Neil Patrick Harris comedy sleeper "Stark Raving Mad" (NBC 1999-2000), and was well into the process of putting 28 episodes under her belt of the quirky but popular sitcom "Dharma & Greg" (ABC 1997-2002). Between 1999 and 2001, Mancuso also helmed seven episodes of the Ryan Reynolds vehicle "Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place" (ABC 1998-2001), and four episodes of "Three Sisters" (NBC 2001-02). During that period, she also directed seven episodes of the Reba McEntire vehicle "Reba" (The WB 2001-06). Between 2001 and 2003, Mancuso worked on nine episodes of "Becker" (CBS 1998-2004), a sitcom starring Ted Danson as a cranky doctor. The show performed well in its original spot leading in to "Everybody Loves Raymond" (CBS 1996-2005) but dropped off when it moved to Sundays in 2002. In the new millennium, Mancuso directed a series of hit shows in rapid succession, including five episodes of "Gilmore Girls" (The WB 2000-06), two episodes of the ratings powerhouse "Two and a Half Men"(CBS 2003-), and two episodes of the somewhat feeble Matt LeBlanc "Friends" spinoff "Joey" (NBC 2004-06). Starting in 2005, she became associated with a series of TV comebacks, first directing Fran Drescher in three episodes of "Living with Fran" (The WB 2005-06), then five episodes of the Twitter-inspired William Shatner vehicle "$#*! My Dad Says" (CBS 2010-11), and five episodes of the critically-acclaimed but tepidly-rated Courteney Cox-led ensemble comedy "Cougar Town" (ABC 2009-12, TBS 2013-15). During this era, Mancuso became the go-to director for several different popular sitcoms. Her credits included eight episodes of the Tina Fey-led critical darling "30 Rock" (NBC 2006-13), 15 episodes of risqué talk show host and author Chelsea Handler's prime-time vehicle "Are You There, Chelsea?" (NBC 2012), long-running relationship comedy "Rules of Engagement" (CBS 2007-13), and 11 episodes of the groundbreaking mockumentary sitcom "Modern Family" (ABC 2009-), for which she was nominated for her first Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series Emmy in 2011.