Steven Conrad (born 20 May 1968) is an American screenwriter, film producer and director. Conrad is the brother of actor Chris Conrad. He lives in Chicago. Shortly after attending Northwestern, at age 19, he sold his first screenplay, Wrestling Ernest Hemingway, adapted from a short story he had written for a creative writing class. Eleven years passed before he tackled his next project, Lawrence Melm, which he wrote and directed. He followed this with The Weather Man (which he also produced) and The Pursuit of Happyness. He wrote, directed, and edited The Promotion, which premiered at South by Southwest in March 2008 and was released by Dimension Films later that year. In 2013, he adapted a James Thurber short story for the film The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, directed by and starring Ben Stiller. In 2015, Conrad developed Patriot for Amazon Studios. Its pilot led to a full series order, and it premiered in its entirety on February 24, 2017. In addition to executive-producing the series, he has also written and directed most of the first season's episodes. In 2019, Conrad's series Perpetual Grace, LTD, starring Ben Kingsley and featuring actors from Patriot, premiered on Epix. In 2021, Conrad's stop-motion animated series Ultra City Smiths premiered on AMC+. In 2026, Conrad's black comedy miniseries DTF St. Louis premiered on HBO, starring Jason Bateman, David Harbour, and Linda Cardellini.
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Biography from TMDB.
- May 20, 1968 (58)
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA
- Writer, director and producer
- 10 on MovieCove · 14 credits in all
What are Steve Conrad'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 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 6
A split, not a type: Light 3 · Serious 2 · Dark 2
Grounded 7 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0
Gentle 2 · Charged 5 · Intense 0
Steady 3 · Shifting 4 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 2
A split, not a type: Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 4 · Relentless 0
Casual 7 · Engaged 0 · Full focus 0
A split, not a type: Easy watch 3 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 2
Resolved 5 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy3
- Bittersweet5
- 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 Steve Conrad's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 5 of their 10 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Pluto TV (2).
Subscription and free streaming for Steve Conrad'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
14 credits, 10 with a MovieCove page.
DTF St. Louis(2026)
Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all shows
Ultra City Smiths (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)
Perpetual Grace, LTD(2019)
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all shows
Wonder(2017)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
Patriot(2015)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all shows
Unfinished Business(2015)
Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all films
Timms Valley (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films
The Promotion(2008)
Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films
The Pursuit of Happyness(2006)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
The Weather Man(2005)
Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all filmsBelushi (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Untitled Adewumi Family Project (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 14 titles, 12 of them dated from 1993 to 2026.
Biggest box office
Wonder (2017)
Highest rated
The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
Most popular right now
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)
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.
Awards
4 major nominations and no wins, 2018–2026.
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
- Critics Choice Award, nominated · Best Adapted Screenplay
Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.
How do Steve Conrad's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 76th percentile, the median of all 7; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 73rd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up5
- 50th to 74th3
- 25th to 49th1
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
None of their 10 titles divides audiences: 4 are Universally Loved.
- Universally Loved4
- Crowd Pleaser4
- Broadly Agreed2
Reviewers score the dialogue 55/100 and the plot and story 48/100 in their films, across 7 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 Steve Conrad's work okay for kids?
Across up to 8 MovieCove titles with content scores, profanity runs heavier than most films and violence & gore lighter.
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 Steve Conrad work with?
People who share at least 2 of Steve Conrad's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Todd Black shares the most, 6.
Actors
- Adrian MartinezShared titles: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013), The Promotion (2008)See all 2 shared titles with Adrian Martinez
- Shirley MacLaineShared titles: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013), Wrestling Ernest Hemingway (1993)See all 2 shared titles with Shirley MacLaine
- Gil BellowsShared titles: The Promotion (2008), The Weather Man (2005)See all 2 shared titles with Gil Bellows
Composers
- Alex WurmanShared titles: Perpetual Grace, LTD (2019), Unfinished Business (2015), The Promotion (2008)See all 3 shared titles with Alex Wurman
Producers
- Todd BlackShared titles: DTF St. Louis (2026), Perpetual Grace, LTD (2019), Unfinished Business (2015), The Pursuit of Happyness (2006), The Weather Man (2005), Wrestling Ernest Hemingway (1993)See all 6 shared titles with Todd Black
- Jason BlumenthalShared titles: DTF St. Louis (2026), Perpetual Grace, LTD (2019), Unfinished Business (2015), The Pursuit of Happyness (2006), The Weather Man (2005)See all 5 shared titles with Jason Blumenthal
- Steve TischShared titles: Perpetual Grace, LTD (2019), Unfinished Business (2015), The Pursuit of Happyness (2006), The Weather Man (2005)See all 4 shared titles with Steve Tisch
- Bruce TerrisShared titles: DTF St. Louis (2026), Perpetual Grace, LTD (2019)See all 2 shared titles with Bruce Terris
