Carl Franklin

After studying history & dramatic arts at UC Berkeley, Carl Franklin spent many years working as an actor both on stage & in television before returning to school to study filmmaking at the American Film Institute.

Armed with his experience in front of the camera, Carl successfully transitioned behind it with his 1992 breakthrough independent feature One False Move.  Named the #1 & #2 Film of the year by Gene Siskel & Roger Ebert, the film garnered major critical acclaim & Carl earned several awards including Best Director at the Independent Spirit Awards; Best New Filmmaker at the MTV Movie Awards & the New Generation Award from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.  Mr. Franklin quickly diversified his resume with the award-winning HBO miniseries Laurel Avenue and his follow-up film, the moody neo-noir Devil in a Blue Dress (1995) starring Denzel Washington & Don Cheadle.

Franklin next went on to direct One True Thing (1998) starring Renée Zellweger, William Hurt, and Meryl Streep, who was nominated for an Academy Award for her role in the film.  During this period, Carl began to build a remarkable body of work in television. He directed episodes of HBO’s The Pacific, Rome, The Newsroom, and The Leftovers; and Showtime’s Homeland and Ray Donovan.  

Carl received an Emmy nomination for his work on Netflix’s breakthrough hit House of Cards.  He won the NAACP Image award for both House of Cards and Netflix’s hit series 13 Reasons Why. Other features High Crimes (2002), Out of Time (2003), and the critically acclaimed Bless Me, Ultima (2012).

Nominated for both an Emmy and a Golden Globe, Carl took home a BAFTA award for his work on the sensational Netflix series Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.  

Carl directed the first two episodes of Manhunt currently streaming on AppleTV+.  Upcoming work includes the premiere episodes of Gladiator: The Aaron Hernandez Story on FX & Netflix’s Monster: The Menendez Brothers.  

He is currently developing a series about The Black Panther Party for Netflix. He is also working on another neo-noir set in the world of African American expats in the jazz haunts of post-WWII Paris as well as an epic dramatic dynasty story set in Ancient Egypt – both soon available on a streaming service near you!