Michael John Warren

Michael John Warren is a six-time Emmy nominated writer, director, showrunner, and executive producer known for highly stylized yet story-driven documentary series, music documentaries, and innovative concert films. Most recently, Warren was the Showrunner for Amazon Prime's explosive true-crime series, Free Meek. The critically acclaimed series features an investigation of the systemic corruption and racism in the Philadelphia Police Department and the Pennsylvania Judicial System-unearthing new facts that ultimately led to the release of Meek Mill and the dismissal of the charges that kept him entangled in the system for twelve years. Warren made his directorial debut with what many consider to be the greatest hip-hop film of all time - Jay-Z's Fade To Black. Since then, he has gone on to profile many of the biggest names in the music industry with Drake: Better Than Good Enough (2010), Nicki Minaj: My Time Now (2010), Nicki Minah: My Time Again (2015), Vh1's Heavy: The Story of Metal (2006) and the theatrical concert film Hillsong: Let Hope Rise (2016).
It's recently been announced that Warren is writing, directing, and executive producing a documentary series on Nick Minaj for HBO Max. This is Michael's third collaboration with the musical icon. Warren's work extends into the sports world as well. In 2007, Warren directed the award-winning Kobe Mentu-a Nike documentary series in Mandarin seen by tens of millions across China. He was a major creative force behind the controversial series Friday Night Tykes (2014). The hit show made a significant impact by revealing the shocking intensity of youth football in Texas. In 2016 Warren directed the spine-tingling documentary series about professional bull riding called Fearless for Netflix. The cinematic series was nominated for 3 Emmys, including Warren's second nomination for "Outstanding Long Form Editing." In 2018, Warren showran and directed the IDA-nominated basketball documentary series Best Shot (Executive Produced by LeBron James), which premiered on YouTube Premium and found a second life on ESPN.
In 2018, Warren also directed the Eleven Madison Park episode of the Netflix series 7 Days Out. The film focuses on the "#1 restaurant in the world" as it underwent a gut renovation and raced against the clock to reclaim its culinary glory despite harrowing conditions.
Warren made history by filming several iconic shows on Broadway. In 2008, he captured the first-ever complete "live" performance in a Broadway theater with Rent: Filmed Live On Broadway. The remarkable achievement was so successful that DreamWorks soon followed suit, and Warren helmed Shrek The Musical Live On Broadway (2013). In 2015, Warren was invited to film selections from the Tony Award-Winning musical Hamilton just days before it opened on Broadway. This noteworthy work was heavily featured in Great Performances: Hamilton's America on PBS, 60 Minutes, The 2016 Tony Award broadcast on CBS, and many other outlets. His latest Broadway offering, Oh Hello On Broadway, starring Nick Kroll and John Mulaney, premiered on Netflix in June 2017 to rave reviews, with The New York Times calling the show "stupendously entertaining."
Warren has directed all over the world, including Africa, Asia, The Caribbean, Australia, Europe, South America, and North America. He has collaborated with some of the most influential companies in the industry, including Bron Studios, Boardwalk Pictures, Vox Media, IPC, Radical Media, 441 Productions, 25/7 Productions, ABC, CBS, PBS, ESPN, AMC, MTV, Vh1, Esquire Network, USA Network, BET, Heineken, Nike, Wyden and Kennedy, BBDO, Sony, Paramount, DreamWorks, Universal, Warner Bros, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, and Netflix.