Michael Jenkins (director)

Michael Jenkins
Michael Jenkins
Born	1946 (age 74–75)
Occupation	Writer, producer, director

Michael Jenkins (born 1946) is an Australian writer, producer and film and television director.^[1]

He is the creator of the crime drama television series Scales of Justice, Blue Murder and Wildside, all of which deal with corruption in the New South Wales police force. He also directed the cult film The Heartbreak Kid, and its spin-off series Heartbreak High.^[2]

Jenkins is one of the most highly regarded Australian directors of the 1990s,^[3] known for his distinctive, gritty style, particularly for his use of multiple hand-held cameras and semi-improvised dialogue.^[4]

Jenkins garnered controversy in 2007, when he was announced as the director of The Wrong Girl, a film about the Sydney gang rapes in 2000, written with Nicholas Hammond. The film ceased production after criticism from Premier Morris Iemma and Deputy Premier John Watkins.^[5]^[6]^[7]

Filmography[]

Film[]

Year	Film	Notes
1983	Careful, He Might Hear You	writer
1985	Robbery Under Arms	writer
1985	Rebel	director, writer
1988	Emerald City	director
1991	Sweet Talker	director
1993	The Heartbreak Kid	director, co-writer

Television[]

Year	Series	Genre	Notes	Network
1967–73	Bellbird	soap opera	director unknown episodes	ABC
1972	Quartet	miniseries	writer unknown episodes
1973–75	Certain Women	soap opera	director unknown episodes
1973	Serpent in the Rainbow	historical drama	writer, 4 episodes 1.01, 1.02, 1.03, 1.04
1975	I'm Here, Darlings!	television movie	director, producer
1976	Rush	historical drama	director, 4 episodes 2.03, 2.07, 2.12, 2.13
1977	Pig in a Poke	hospital drama	director unknown episodes
1979	Bailey's Bird	children's adventure	director, writer, 1 episode 1.01	Seven Network
1979	One Day, Miller	comedy	director unknown episodes	ABC
1980	Young Ramsay	country drama	writer, 1 episode 2.10	Seven Network
1980	Water Under the Bridge	historical drama	writer, 8 episodes 1.01, 1.02, 1.03, 1.04, 1.05, 1.06, 1.07, 1.08	Network 10
1980–82	Spring and Fall	anthology	director, writer, 2 episodes 1.02, 2.04	ABC
1981	Menotti	drama	writer, 1 episode 1.08
1983	Scales of Justice	crime drama	creator, director, 3 episodes 1.01, 1.02, 1.03
1986	The Gillies Republic	satirical sketch comedy	director, 6 episodes 1.01, 1.02, 1.03, 1.04, 1.05, 1.06
1986	Shark's Paradise	television movie	director	Network Ten
1988	The Dirtwater Dynasty	historical drama	director, writer, 5 episodes 1.01, 1.02, 1.03, 1.04, 1.05	Network Ten
1992	The Leaving of Liverpool	historical drama	director, 2 episodes 1.01, 1.02	ABC
1994–97	Heartbreak High	teen drama	creator, director, 2 episodes 1.01, 1.02	Network Ten ABC
1995	Blue Murder	crime drama	creator, director, 2 episodes 1.01, 1.02	ABC
1997–99	Wildside	crime drama	creator, director, 2 episodes 1.01, 1.02	ABC
2002	Young Lions	crime drama	creator, director, 3 episodes 1.02, 1.04, 1.22	Nine Network
2017	Blue Murder: Killer Cop	crime drama	creator, director, 2 episodes 1.01, 1.02	Seven Network