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John Kent Harrison

Director and writer, also producer · Born January 1, 1947 (79) · London, Ontario, Canada

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. John Kent Harrison is a television producer, director and writer. Harrison was educated at Columbia University and at Appleby College in Canada. Harrison is best known for his work in the international miniseries format. Various credits include The Water is Wide (2006), Pope John Paul II (2005) with Jon Voight who was nominated for an Emmy Award for his role as Pope John Paul II. Two other popular films are A Bear Named Winnie (2004), Emmy Award winning Helen of Troy (2003), and A Wrinkle in Time (mini-series) which won the International Children's Film Festival in 2003. With a 34 share, his 1996 TV movie, What The Deaf Man Heard, has been the highest-rated stand-alone 2-hour TV movie since 1991. It was also nominated for an Emmy Award as Best TV movie of the year. The following year his Hallmark Hall of Fame production, William Faulkner's Old Man with Arliss Howard and Jeanne Tripplehorn won two Emmy Awards, the Humanitas Prize and the Columbus Gold Medal. In 2009 Harrison was nominated by the DGA as best TV movie director of the year for his Hallmark Hall of Fame production of "The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler" with Anna Paquin who was also nominated for a Golden Globe in her role as Irena Sendler, a Polish hero of the Holocaust. Also that year, Harrison directed Winona Ryder and Barry Pepper in another Hallmark Hall of Fame Production, "The Lois Wilson Story" about Lois and Bill Wilson who respectively founded Al-Anon and AA. Description above from the Wikipedia article John Kent Harrison, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
January 1, 1947 (79)
From
London, Ontario, Canada
Works as
Director and writer, also producer
Titles
21 on MovieCove · 35 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 39 days to Oct 28Up 7% in 30 days

What are John Kent Harrison's films like?

Across their 21 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.

Genres

Drama12 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 65th percentile
: browse their Drama movies
Biography3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 69th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Biography movies
Comedy2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 73rd percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Comedy movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
29%
Self
25%
Survival
16%
Morality
15%
Ideas
6%
Power
5%
Society
2%
Family bonds12 titles, browse their movies with this themeComing of age5 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice4 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose3 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival3 titles, browse their movies with this themeRomantic love2 titles, browse their movies with this themeGrief3 titles, browse their movies with this themeHope3 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 21 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 12 · Serious 3 · Dark 6

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 17 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 0

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 5 · Charged 14 · Intense 2

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 11 · Shifting 9 · Whiplash 1

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 16 · Some laughs 5 · Funny 0

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 13 · Even-paced 8 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 12 · Engaged 9 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 18 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Hopeful
14
Tense
11
Warm
8
Melancholic
8
Bittersweet
6
Other
9

How their films linger

Hopeful16 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet8 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 1 with a twist

  • Happy7
  • Bittersweet11
  • Tragic2
  • Ambiguous1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch John Kent Harrison's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 17 of their 21 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for John Kent Harrison's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

35 credits, 21 with a MovieCove page.

  • Anne of Green Gables: Fire and Dew(2017)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films

  • L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables: The Good Stars(2017)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films

  • Anne of Green Gables(2016)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films

  • Christmas in Conway(2013)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • SHReD: The Story of Asher Bradshaw(2013)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Game of Your Life (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

    Director

  • Change of Plans (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

    Director · Writer

  • A Walk in My Shoes(2010)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films

  • When Love Is Not Enough: The Lois Wilson Story(2010)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler(2009)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films

  • Crossroads: A Story of Forgiveness(2007)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films

  • The Water Is Wide(2006)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films

  • Pope John Paul II (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    Show 2 episodes · Director · Creator · Screenplay

  • A Bear Named Winnie(2004)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films

  • The Winning Season (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)

    Director

  • A Wrinkle in Time(2003)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films

  • Helen of Troy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

    Show 2 episodes · Director

  • In Love and War(2001)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films

  • A House Divided (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

    Director

  • You Know My Name(1999)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films

  • What the Deaf Man Heard(1997)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films

  • Old Man(1997)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films

  • Calm at Sunset(1996)

    Teleplay

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films

  • The Ranger, the Cook and a Hole in the Sky(1995)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films

  • Johnny's Girl (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)

    Director · Writer

  • City Boy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)

    Director

  • For the Love of Aaron(1994)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films

  • Whose Child Is This? The War for Baby Jessica (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)

    Director

  • The Sound and the Silence: The Alexander Graham Bell Story (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)

    Director · Writer

  • Beautiful Dreamers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)

    Director · Screenplay

  • Thanks for the Ride (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)

    Director · Writer

  • Murder by Phone(1982)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films

  • Coming Out Alive (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1980)

    Writer

  • Bravery in the Field (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1980)

    Writer

  • Shock Waves(1977)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films

Career shape

A full career of 34 titles from 1977 to 2017.

Biggest box office

Anne of Green Gables (2016)

$127K worldwide

Highest rated

The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler (2009)

Midcredits 86th

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing29 of 34: 20 only directing, 9 with another role · typical Midcredits score67thWriting14 of 34: 5 only writing, 9 with another role · typical Midcredits score53rdOther crew1 of 34: 0 only other crew, 1 with another role

34 titles, 9 with more than one role — directing and writing overlap on 9 of them.

By decade

1970s1 · crew1980s4 · crew1990s11 · crew2000s10 · crew2010s8 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do John Kent Harrison's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 65th percentile, the median of all 21; across their 21 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 65th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

65thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 21

Approval · how many liked their films

63rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 21

Reach · how many have seen their films

46thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 21

Midcredits score across 21 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up6
  • 50th to 74th9
  • 25th to 49th6

Shape of the crowd

13 of their 21 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Divisive1
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser13
  • Mixed6

Most divisive · producer

SHReD: The Story of Asher Bradshaw (2013)

93rd percentile spread · 37% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director, writer

The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler (2009)

Midcredits 86th · 77% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 70/100 and the pacing 50/100 in their films, across 18 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does John Kent Harrison work with?

People who share at least 2 of John Kent Harrison's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Lawrence Shragge shares the most, 10.

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles