Paris Barclay
About
Biography
Biography
Born in Chicago Heights, Illinois in 1956, Paris Barclay attended the prestigious La Lumiere School on a scholarship, and was one of the first African American students to attend the school. He would go on to attend Harvard University before graduating into the professional world. After a short stint as a copywriter for an ad agency, Barclay opened his own business and began cultivating relationships with musical artists. He started directing music videos for artists like Janet Jackson and LL Cool J in 1990, and within a few years, he was directing film and television projects as well, memorably directing Marlon Wayans in his first feature film, "Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood" (1996). He became an executive producer and frequent director on the acclaimed series "NYPD Blue" (ABC, 1993-2005), and soon after co-created and produced the series "City of Angels" (CBS, 2000-02). Barclay would go on to produce and direct the critically lauded "In Treatment" (HBO, 2008-2010), and later became the executive producer and chief director for "Sons of Anarchy" (FX, 2008-2014). In 2013, Barclay was elected president of the Director's Guild of America, making him the first African American and openly gay person to hold the position. Always moving forward with new and exciting ideas, Barclay would next executive produce the historical epic series "The Bastard Executioner" (FX, 2015) as well as the sports drama "Pitch" (Fox, 2016-17).
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Cast (Feature Film)
Writer (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Director (Special)
Life Events
1991
Served as segment director on "MTV, Give Me Back My Life: A Harvard Lampoon Parody" (Comedy Central)
1992
Hired as director for first primetime series, the short-lived "Angel Street" (CBS), first collaboration with producer John Wells
1995
Directed episodes of "Diagnosis Murder" (CBS) and the short-lived "Extreme" (ABC)
1996
Feature directing debut, "Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood," the parody of black films starring the Wayans family
1996
Helmed episodes of the Wells-produced "ER" (NBC)
1996
Helmed "Reunion" segment of HBO's "America's Dream"
1996
Directed HBO movie "The Cherokee Kid"; also played the bit role of Cowboy No 1
1997
Helmed episodes of the Bochco-produced "Brooklyn South"
1997
Began producing and often directing the acclaimed series "NYPD Blue."
1998
Assumed role of supervising producer for "NYPD Blue"
2000
Directed episodes of the NBC political drama, "The West Wing"
2000
Co-created, executive produced, and frequently directed the series "City of Angels."
2001
In January, signed development deal with John Wells Productions
2002
Helmed the TNT movie, "The Big Time."
2003
Helmed episodes of the gritty drama, "The Shield" (TNT)
2003
Produced and directed episodes of "Cold Case" (CBS)
2005
Earned a DGA nomination for directing an episode of "House" (Fox) titled <i>Three Stories</i>
2007
Helmed episodes of the FX series, "Dirt" created by and starring Courteney Cox
2008
Co-executive produced and directed roughly half the episodes of "In Treatment."
2009
Directed episodes of Fox's "Glee"; earned an Emmy (2010) nomination for Outstanding Directing For A Comedy Series
Family
