Jane Anderson (born c. 1954 in California) is an American actress, playwright, screenwriter and director. She wrote and directed the feature film The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio (2005), and wrote the film It Could Happen to You (1994), starring Nicolas Cage. She won an Emmy Award for writing the screenplay for the miniseries Olive Kitteridge (2014). Description above from the Wikipedia article Jane Anderson, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- California
- Writer, director, producer and actor
- 13 on MovieCove · 20 credits in all
What are Jane Anderson's films like?
Across their 9 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.
Genres
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
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 1 · Wry 0 · Earnest 8
Light 3 · Serious 5 · Dark 1
Grounded 7 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 0
Gentle 3 · Charged 5 · Intense 1
Steady 3 · Shifting 6 · Whiplash 0
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 5 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 1
Slow burn 5 · Even-paced 4 · Relentless 0
Casual 7 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 2 · Affecting 5 · Heavy 2
Resolved 8 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 1
Moods and endings
- Happy3
- Bittersweet4
- Ambiguous2
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 Jane Anderson's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 13 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on The Roku Channel (3).
Subscription and free streaming for Jane Anderson'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
20 credits, 13 with a MovieCove page.

Normal (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)

The Wife(2017)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films
Olive Kitteridge(2014)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all shows
Mad Men(2007)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
Normal(2003)
Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films
When Billie Beat Bobby(2001)
Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films
The Baby Dance (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)
Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films
It Could Happen to You(1994)
Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films
The Hidden Room (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)
Raising Miranda (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)

The Wonder Years(1988)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all showsP.O.P. (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)

The Facts of Life(1979)
Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all showsLast Night at the Lobster (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Strange Arrivals (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 20 titles, 18 of them dated from 1979 to 2026.

Biggest box office
How to Make an American Quilt (1995)

Highest rated
The Wife (2017)

Most popular right now
It Could Happen to You (1994)
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 Jane Anderson's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 74th percentile, the median of all 9; across their 9 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 75th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up7
- 50th to 74th4
- 25th to 49th2
Shape of the crowd
8 of their 13 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved3
- Crowd Pleaser8
- Mixed2
Reviewers score the dialogue 60/100 and the plot and story 54/100 in their films, across 9 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.
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.
Is Jane Anderson's work okay for kids?
Across up to 5 MovieCove titles with content scores, every category sits near the median of all films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Jane Anderson work with?
People who share at least 2 of Jane Anderson's MovieCove titles; Holly Hunter shares the most, 2.
- Holly HunterShared titles: When Billie Beat Bobby (2001), The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom (1993)See all 2 shared titles with Holly Hunter

- Paul ElliottShared titles: When Billie Beat Bobby (2001), If These Walls Could Talk 2 (2000)See all 2 shared titles with Paul Elliott

