Colleen McGuinness is an American director, screenwriter, and producer who has worked as a writer and producer on shows including 30 Rock, Life & Beth, and Ramy. After joining 30 Rock in 2011, she shared in its Primetime Emmy nomination for best comedy series in 2013 as well as in its 65th and 66th WGA Awards nominations and 2014 PGA Awards nomination. McGuinness directed the 2024 short film Loser which has been adapted into a feature film with the same name and is produced by Radio Silence, Dan Lawler, and Michael Sherman. The film is in post-production as of summer 2026.
Early life and education McGuinness, who is half-Korean and half-Irish, was born in Killeen, Texas, and was raised on Long Island in Islip, New York. McGuinness was a tennis champion in high school.
At Harvard University, McGuinness studied directing with Professor Marcus Stern and directed productions of A Doll's House and Guys and Dolls while also producing a version of Hamlet. The production of Guys and Dolls that McGuinness directed was the first undergraduate co-ed production at the Hasty Pudding Theater in over 10 years. Upon graduating, McGuinness was awarded the Louise Donovan award for directing.
Career McGuinness began her career at Castle Rock Entertainment and later became a development assistant at New Line Cinema. While at New Line, McGuinness wrote and directed her first short film, For Mature Audiences Only.
After Darren Starr saw her short film, he hired McGuinness for her first series writing job on Miss Match, starring Alicia Silverstone. Since then, McGuinness has written on shows including Mercy, 30 Rock, About a Boy, Friends from College, Forever, Ramy, Stargirl, and Life & Beth, where she was also an executive producer. She joined the staff of 30 Rock in 2011, which ultimately led her to share in the series' Emmy, WGA, and PGA nominations.
In 2013, when Tina Fey started her new production company Little Stranger Productions, her company's first sale was an untitled comedy to be written by McGuinness and executive-produced by Fey and by former 30 Rock showrunner Robert Carlock. In 2014, McGuinness developed a script with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck for Fox.
In 2016, together with Game of Thrones executive producer Carolyn Strauss, McGuinness worked with HBO to develop a comedy series based on the novel Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld.
McGuinness later wrote, produced, and directed the 2024 short film Loser, which has played in over 25 film festivals, including the Oscar-qualifying Hamptons International Film Festival and the Palm Springs International ShortFest. Loser won multiple awards, including "Best International Short", "Best Director" (Colleen McGuinness), and "Best Performance in a Lead Role" (Angourie Rice) at the Oxford International Film Festival, "Best Short" and "Best Screenplay" (Colleen McGuinness) at the LA Indie Film Festival, "Best Film" and "Best Actress" (Angourie Rice) at DOC LA, "International: Best Film" at the Canberra Short Film Festival, "Best Short Film" at the Byron Bay International Film Festival, "Best Short Drama" at the New Hampshire Film Festival, and the "Audience Award" at the Charlotte Film Festival.
McGuinness is currently in post-production on the feature film Loser, produced by Radio Silence.
Filmography Film
YearsTitleWriterDirectorProducerNotes 2002 For Mature Audiences Only Short film 2024 Loser Short film Feature film; post-production
Television
YearsTitleWriterExecutiveproducerNotes 2003 Miss Match (1) 2004 North Shore (1) 2009–2010 Mercy (3) 2011 Love Bites (2) 2011–2013 30 Rock (2) 2014 About a Boy (1) 2017 Friends from College (1) 2018 Forever (1) 2020 Ramy (1) 2020–2022 Stargirl (2) 2022 Life & Beth (2) 2026 Furious (1)
Awards and nominations YearAwardsCategoryProjectResultRef.201365th Writers Guild of America AwardsComedy Series30 Rock66th Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Comedy Series201466th Writers Guild of America AwardsComedy Series25th Producers Guild of America AwardsOutstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy2024Arizona Underground Film FestivalBest Narrative ShortLoserByron Bay International Film FestivalBest Short FilmCanberra Short Film FestivalBest FilmCharlotte Film FestivalAudience AwardDOC LABest FilmNew Hampshire Film FestivalBest Short DramaLA Indie Film FestivalBest ShortBest ScreenplayOxford International Film FestivalBest DirectorBest International Short
References
External links