The Directors Guild of America has again criticized TV networks for failing to follow through on promises to boost hiring of women and minority helmers for primetime series.
Guild termed "dismal" and "bleak" the results of its survey of 800 episodes on the top 40 primetime shows during 2004-05. DGA noted that the numbers were similar to those of previous seasons. In the most recent season, Caucasian males directed 83% of episodes, with Caucasian women helming 10%, minority males 5% and minority females 2%.
Guild, in a report issued Wednesday, noted that five shows -- "CSI," "Yes, Dear," "NCIS," "Center of the Universe" and "Everybody Loves Raymond" -- hadn't hired either a woman or minority director during the past TV season.
DGA reported that four other shows -- "Judging Amy," "Law & Order: Trial by Jury," "Desperate Housewives" and "The West Wing" -- failed to hire a minority director. And it said nine other shows had not hired a female helmer: "24," "Still Standing," "Law & Order," "House," "Medium," JAG," "According to Jim," "Cold Case" and "King of Queens."
Guild also singled out several shows for lagging performance in hiring over the longer term, including Talk Prods.' "Everybody Loves Raymond" for not hiring any minority directors and only three women over the past five years; Paramount's "JAG" for not hiring any women directors and five minorities for the past five years; CBS' "CSI" for hiring only one woman and three minorities in five years; Touchstone's "According to Jim" for hiring no women and three minorities in four years; and Fox's "Yes, Dear" for hiring no women and three minorities over four years.
The DGA noted Fox's "Judging Amy" had been active in hiring women directors with 31 in five seasons but added that the skein hadn't employed a single minority director during that period.
By contrast, the guild singled out a pair of long-running Warner dramas -- "ER" and "Third Watch" -- for defying network trends. A total of 36% of "Third Watch" segments and 27% of "ER" episodes were directed by women and minorities.
The DGA also pointed to Universal's "Crossing Jordan" and CBS' "CSI: Miami" for making "good faith" efforts with women and minority directors on 50% and 32% of the past season's episodes, respectively.
Last year's top 40 report shows that of the 865 total episodes in 2003-04, Caucasian males directed 741 (86%); women directed 60 (7%); African Americans, 49 (6%); Latinos, 16 (2%); and Asian Americans directed only 10 episodes (1%). In 2002-03, women directed 11%.
Contact Dave McNary at
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