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BENJAMONSTER AWARDS 2025: Outstanding Directing of a Limited/Anthology Series

Today's award is Outstanding Directing of a Limited/Anthology Series!

Past Awards in This Category: 2024   2023   2022   2021   2020

This year's nominees are...










PHILIP BARANTINI, Adolescence (Netflix)
LIZ GARBUS, Good American Family "Too Hurty Without It" (Hulu)
SHANNON MURPHY, Dying For Sex "It's Not That Serious" (FX/Hulu)
HELEN SHAVER, The Penguin "Cent'Anni" (HBO)
MICHAEL UPPENDAHL, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story "The Hurt Man" (Netflix)
MIKE WHITE, The White Lotus (HBO)

And the Winner Is...
PHILIP BARANTINI
Adolescence (Netflix)
What could have been gimmicky (an entire series composed with episodes that are "oners") was a masterful, thrilling series in Adolescence. "Oners" have been overused a bit this season but no show did it as well as Adolescence. Not only did it have the usual challenges of filming an episode in one shot, but it also had some truly ambitious moments (driving from one place to another, a chase scene that started with a character jumping out a window). But despite those moments, Adolescence wasn't a flashy series. It knew when to be intense and when to be quiet and striking the right tone throughout also falls on the director. Philip Barantini was a master with this series.

Thoughts on the Rest of the Nominees:
Adolescence wasn't the only "oner" on this list. One episode of Monsters was a lot more artful than the rest with a compelling interview scene that ever so slowly zoomed in closer. Mike White was a two time winner in this category for The White Lotus and was an expert director again, but I did feel like there were some pacing concerns this season. The Cristin Milioti-centric episode of The Penguin was a real big budget spectacle with lots of huge moments. The fifth episode of Good American Family turned the perspective on its head, not an easy task when the whole series had been devised a different way up to that point. Finally, Dying For Sex's finale already won for Writing but it also had a gentle and sweet touch with Directing.

Tomorrow: Outstanding Directing of a Drama Series!
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