Tristram Shapeero biography: 13 things about TV director from Somerset, England

Tristram Shapeero is a television director from Somerset, England, United Kingdom. He directed TV shows in the U.K. from 2000 to 2010.

Before becoming a TV director, Shapeero worked as an audience coordinator for the British TV sitcom “Drop the Dead Donkey.” In 1991 in New York, United States, he met Erica Lindberg, who became his wife.

After a decade of directing TV shows in the U.S., he became controversial because of his criticism of Lukas Gage‘s apartment during an online audition via Zoom. Here are 13 more things about the director:

1. He was born in Bath, Somerset in 1966.
2. He attended Beechen Cliff School and St. Stephen’s Primary Church School in Bath, according to Bath Chronicle.
3. He was the first assistant director of “Get Real” in 1998 and “Starting Out” in 1999.
4. In 2000, he directed seven episodes of “Smack the Pony,” which marked his directing debut. In 2001, he directed one episode of “Bremner, Bird and Fortune,” one episode of “Brass Eye,” six episodes of “Sam’s Game” and six episodes of “Gimme Gimme Gimme.” In 2002, he directed one episode of “French and Saunders,” one episode of “Absolutely Fabulous” and six episodes of “I’m Alan Partridge.”
5. He directed 12 episodes of “Peep Show” from 2004 to 2005, 18 episodes of “Green Wing” from 2004 to 2006 and 13 episodes of “Pulling” from 2006 to 2009. He also directed six episodes of “Absolute Power” in 2005, six episodes of “Feel the Force” in 2006, six episodes of “Ruddy Hell! It’s Harry and Paul” in 2007, a short film titled “Sidney Turtlebaum” in 2008 and six episodes of “Reggie Perrin” and a TV special titled “Jimmy Carr: Telling Jokes” in 2009.
6. In July 2009, he moved to Los Angeles, California, USA to direct comedy for American television.
7. On July 20, 2010, he collected an honorary Doctor of Letters (DLitt) degree from Bath Spa University, according to BBC.
8. He directed three episodes of “Bored to Death” from 2010 to 2011, four episodes of “Parks and Recreation” from 2010 to 2013, 24 episodes of “Community” from 2010 to 2014, five episodes of “Workaholics” from 2011 to 2012, three episodes of “Happy Endings” from 2011 to 2013, six episodes of “Children’s Hospital” from 2011 to 2015 and three episodes of “New Girl” from 2012 to 2013. He also directed six episodes of “The Persuasionists” in 2010, one episode of “Perfect Couples,” two episodes of “Nurse Jackie,” one episode of “Mr. Sunshine” and a TV movie titled “My Freakin’ Family” in 2011, two episodes of “Veep” and one episode of “How to be a Gentleman” in 2012 and one episode of “Big Bad World” and one episode of “The Michael J. Fox Show” in 2013. In 2014, he directed one episode of “Trophy Wife,” one episode of “Playing House,” two episodes of “Benched” and the film “A Merry Friggin’ Christmas” starring Joel McHale, Lauren Graham and Clark Duke.
9. He directed five episodes of “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” from 2014 and 2017, nine episodes of “Blunt Talk” from 2015 to 2016, 10 episodes of “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” from 2015 and 2018, five episodes of “Superstore” from 2016 and 2020 and two episodes of “The Mayor” from 2017 to 2018. He directed one episode of “A to Z,” one episode of “Grace and Frankie” and one episode of “Fresh Off the Boat” in 2015, one episode each of “Grandfathered,” “The Grinder,” “Angel from Hell” and “The Good Place” in 2016 and one episode of “GLOW,” two episodes of “Great News” and six episodes of “Ryan Hansen Solves Crimes on Television” in 2017. Also in 2017, he directed the comedy film “The Sackett Sisters” starring Bradley Whitford, Casey Wilson and Busy Philipps.
10. He directed “Three Rivers” starring Annaleigh Ashford, John Larroquette and Shakira Barrera. The comedy film was released on ABC in 2018. In the same year, he directed one episode of “A.P. Bio,” one episode of “I Feel Bad,” two episodes of “Speechless” and two episodes of “Teachers.”
11. In 2019, he directed four episodes of “Turn Up Charlie” and three episodes of “Four Weddings and a Funeral.”
12. In 2020, he directed one episode of “Perfect Harmony,” one episode of “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist” and four episodes of “Never Have I Ever.”
13. In August 2020, while Gage was auditioning for a TV show via Zoom, he was recorded saying, “These poor people live in these tiny apartments like I’m looking at his, you know, background and he’s got his TV and his, you know.” In a Deadline article published on November 23, 2020, he explained his remarks against Gage’s apartment. He wrote, “I was using the word ‘poor’ in the sense of deserving sympathy, as opposed to any economic judgment. My words were being spoken from a genuine place of appreciation for what the actors were having to endure, stuck in confined spaces, finding it within themselves to give a role-winning performance under these conditions.”