Todd Holland (born August 13, 1961) is an American film and television director and producer. He directed over 50 episodes of ''

The Larry Sanders Show ''The Larry Sanders Show'' is an American television sitcom set in the office and studio of a fictional late-night talk show. The series was created by Garry Shandling and Dennis Klein and aired from August 15, 1992, to May 31, 1998, on the HBO ...

'', for which he received an Emmy, and 26 episodes of ''

Malcolm in the Middle ''Malcolm in the Middle'' is an American family television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for Fox. The series premiered on January 9, 2000, and ended on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes. The series follows a dysfunction ...

'', for which he received two Emmy Awards. His feature films include '' The Wizard'' (1989) and ''

Krippendorf's Tribe ''Krippendorf's Tribe'' is a 1998 American comedy film directed by Todd Holland and based on Frank Parkin's 1985 novel of the same name. The film stars Richard Dreyfuss, Jenna Elfman, Natasha Lyonne, and Lily Tomlin. Its plot follows Professor Ja ...

'' (1998).

Early life and education

Holland was born in

Kittanning, Pennsylvania Kittanning ( pronounced ) is a borough in, and the county seat of, Armstrong County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is situated northeast of Pittsburgh, along the east bank of the Allegheny River. The name is derived from ''Kithanink' ...

and raised in

Meadville, Pennsylvania Meadville is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Pennsylvania. The city is within of Erie and within of Pittsburgh. It was the first permanent settlement in Northwestern Pennsylvania. The population was 13,388 at the 2010 ce ...

. He was an honor student, graduating from Meadville Area Sr. High School-M. A. S. H. While there, he wrote, directed and produced several parodies of movies popular at the time. He graduated in 1985 from UCLA's school of Theater, Film and Television.

Career

Holland got his career break when

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Sp ...

saw his UCLA thesis film ''Chicken Thing''—a 12-minute comedy horror short—and hired Holland to write and direct on the second season of ''Amazing Stories''. Holland directed 52 episodes of ''

'' for HBO. He received an Emmy for the series finale "FLIP". Holland then started working with

Linwood Boomer Linwood Boomer (born October 9, 1955) is a Canadian-American television producer, writer, and former actor. He is known for playing the role of Adam Kendall on the drama '' Little House on the Prairie'', and for creating the Fox sitcom ''Malc ...

on the Fox sitcom ''

'' where he directed 26 episodes and served as co-executive producer for the show. Holland earned two

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

s for the show: both wins were for

Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series is presented to the best directing of a television comedy series. Winners and nominations 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Total awards by netwo ...

, his first one for the

pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in television in the United States, United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a te ...

of the series, the second for the season two episode "

Bowling Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), though ...

"—for which he also won the DGA award for excellence in comedy directing. Holland co-created ''

Wonderfalls ''Wonderfalls'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Todd Holland and Bryan Fuller that was broadcast on the Fox television network in 2004. The show centers on Jaye Tyler (Caroline Dhavernas), a recent Brown University gra ...

'' with

Bryan Fuller Bryan Fuller (born July 27, 1969) is an American television writer and producer who has created a number of television series, including ''Dead Like Me'', ''Wonderfalls'', ''Pushing Daisies'', ''Hannibal'', and ''American Gods.'' Fuller worked as ...

, for which they received a WGA nomination. He has also directed the feature films '' The Wizard'', ''

'' and ''

Firehouse Dog ''Firehouse Dog'' is a 2007 American family film produced by Regency Enterprises and distributed by 20th Century Fox. Directed by Todd Holland, it stars Josh Hutcherson, Bruce Greenwood, Dash Mihok, Steven Culp and Bill Nunn. It was released Apri ...

''. Holland has directed twice for the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

sitcom ''

30 Rock ''30 Rock'' is an American satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live'', tak ...

''. He directed the episode "

Generalissimo ''Generalissimo'' ( ) is a military rank of the highest degree, superior to field marshal and other five-star ranks in the states where they are used. Usage The word (), an Italian term, is the absolute superlative of ('general') thus me ...

," an episode for which he received his seventh Emmy Award nomination, but lost to Jeffrey Blitz for ''

The Office ''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries. The original ser ...

''. Holland worked with

Justin Berfield Justin Tyler Berfield (born February 25, 1986) is an American former actor, writer, and producer. He is known for his portrayal of Malcolm's dimwitted older brother, Reese, on the family sitcom '' Malcolm in the Middle''. He also played Ross ...

, with whom he had worked on ''Malcolm in the Middle'', on '' Sons of Tucson'', a 2010 Fox television sitcom. He directed five of the thirteen episodes and executive produced the series. Two of his shows were named in TV Guide's "100 greatest Episodes of Television", the "Everybody Loves Larry" episode of ''

'' and the "Life Of Brian" episode of ''

My So-Called Life ''My So-Called Life'' is an American teen drama television series created by Winnie Holzman and produced by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz. It originally aired on ABC from August 25, 1994, to January 26, 1995. It is distributed by The B ...

''.

Personal life

Holland has been married to actor and singer Scotch Ellis Loring since 2008. The couple are fathers to triplets, born in 2010 via a surrogate.

Filmography

Film

* ''The Wizard'' (1989) * ''

'' (1998) * ''

'' (2007)

Television

TV movies * ''Five Houses'' (1998) * ''Kilroy'' (1998) * ''Ball & Chain'' (2001) * ''The Time Tunnel'' (2004) * ''Amy Coyne'' (2006) * ''Fugly'' (2007) * ''Isabel'' (2012) * ''The Pro'' (2014) * ''Furst Born'' (2016) * ''Charlie Foxtrot'' (2017) * ''Steps'' (2018) * '' Monster High: The Movie'' (2022)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Holland, Todd 1961 births Living people People from Kittanning, Pennsylvania American television directors LGBT film directors LGBT television directors LGBT producers LGBT people from Pennsylvania People from Crawford County, Pennsylvania UCLA Film School alumni Film directors from Pennsylvania Primetime Emmy Award winners Directors Guild of America Award winners