Steven Spielberg Wants to Direct a TV Series; He Would Have Directed MARE OF EASTTOWN If Given The Chance

Academy Award-winning director Steven Spielberg is best known for his epic movies like E.T., the Indiana Jones films, Jaws, Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, and so many more, but he hasn’t delved into the world of TV as a director yet. He has been involved in some great series, but only in the role of producer. He’s hoping that will soon change, and he even has a type of series he is looking to make.

In a recent interview with on the Smartless podcast (via The Playlist), Spielberg talked about his future plans, and the type of series he thinks he could really dig into:

“I do have an appetite for long-form, and someday, I will direct a long-form series. I mean, if someone would have brought me ‘Mare of Easttown,’ I would have done that. [Laughs] That was a beautifully directed story.” 

That was a fantastic limited series, and I could totally see him attached to a great character-driven story like that. He revealed that he got close to helming an HBO series when he flirted with the idea of making his Academy Award-winning film Lincoln into a six-hour miniseries instead of a feature film.

“I was willing to do ‘Lincoln’ as a six-hour [show] because I couldn’t raise all the financing for it. No one believed in it…I went around town and everyone turned me down. I was ready to make a deal with HBO to do it and expand it to six hours. Tony Kushner’s first draft was 550 pages, so I had the goods! I had the material. I don’t know if I could have talked Daniel Day-Lewis into doing six hours, but I was on the brink of that.”

I like to watch everything that Spielberg makes, so I look forward to him connecting with the right story, and getting it out us on our TVs. We will keep you posted as we find out more.