David Semel

Since beginning his directorial career in television with five episodes of the studio-exec-turned-realtor sitcom "Open House" (1989-1990), David Semel has been at the helm of a string of TV's monster hit shows. The first mega-hit Semel directed for was the superficially sunny teen soap "Beverly Hills, 90210," on which he also began his extensive producing career in 1994. Coming off that success, he brought his knack for helming dynamic young casts to series as diverse as the wholesome family drama "7th Heaven" and the cult genre-mash-up hit "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," directing several episodes of each. Semel helped shepherd characters across the cusp of adulthood as a recurring director of such other popular series as the tumultuous,1960s-set saga "American Dreams" and the beloved "Dawson's Creek," a coming-of-age drama set mostly in a small coastal town in Massachusetts. In the interim he also managed to make his feature-film directorial debut with "Lone Star State of Mind," a crime caper starring breakout TV star Joshua Jackson. In high demand during the mid-to-late 2000s, Semel parlayed his chaotic approach to the fast-paced "Mind" into directing and executive producing such increasingly kinetic series as the superpowered epic "Heroes" and the lurid yet charming doctor drama "House M.D.." Injecting his glossy new style with a bit of his old, youth-oriented ways, he helmed the 2009 TV movie "Limelight," about a group of students at a performing arts school in New York City.