Donahue is a writer, director, producer and showrunner. He is the writer/director, co-showrunner (with Ilan Arboleda) and an executive producer on the 6-part Paramount+ docuseries, Mafia Spies, premiering Spring 2024 (Other EPs include Danny Strong, Matt Jackson and Susan Zirinsky). In 2023, Donahue wrote and directed the 4 part Paramount+ Original docuseries, Murder of God's Banker. In 2021, he produced, directed and edited the TCM Original feature documentary, Dean Martin: King of Cool (Winner, HPA Award for Best Editing, holding 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and EP'd by Leonardo DiCaprio). In 2019, he directed the Netflix Original, Los Tigres del Norte at Folsom Prison (nominated for two Latin Grammys, winning one). In 2018, Donahue's This Changes Everything (Gracie Award, LA Press Club Arts and Entertainment Journalism Award) investigated gender inequality in Hollywood. Called a "searing" (Washington Post) "breakout documentary" (Hollywood Reporter), it earned EP Geena Davis an honorary Oscar and includes interviews with Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, Taraji P. Henson, Reese Witherspoon and many others. It was the runner up for the audience award at the Toronto International Film Festival, premiering on Starz in 2019 and then Netflix in 2021. Donahue's 2016 award-winning feature documentary, Thank You For Your Service ("Gut wrenching... important" -The New York Times), featured General David Petraeus and Defense Secretary Robert Gates and examined the failed mental health policies in the US military. Donahue's 2014 Emmy-nominated, Casting By (Gracie Award, the Artois Award, one of The National Board of Review's Top Five Documentaries) inspired the Oscars to create a casting branch, leading finally to an Oscar category for Achievement in Casting (beginning in 2026). His feature directorial debut was Sundance' Channel's Guest of Cindy Sherman, called "a work of art" (Variety) and given 5 stars by Time-Out. Donahue co-founded and is Co--CEO of CreativeChaos vmg with Ilan Arboleda. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
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Biography from IMDb.
- May 18, 1968 (58)
- Rhinebeck, New York, USA
- Director, producer and editor, also writer
- 10 on MovieCove · 18 credits in all
What are Tom Donahue's films like?
Across their 10 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Society and Self.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 8
A split, not a type: Light 4 · Serious 0 · Dark 4
Grounded 7 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0
A split, not a type: Gentle 4 · Charged 2 · Intense 2
Steady 6 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 7 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0
Slow burn 7 · Even-paced 1 · Relentless 0
Casual 3 · Engaged 5 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 3 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 2
Resolved 6 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy1
- Bittersweet5
- Ambiguous4
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 Tom Donahue's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 6 of their 10 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Paramount+ (2).
Subscription and free streaming for Tom Donahue'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
18 credits, 10 with a MovieCove page.
Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Mafia Spies(2024)
Midcredits score: 34th percentile of all showsThe Great Divide (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)
King of Cool(2021)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films
This Changes Everything(2018)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
Bleed Out(2018)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films
Davi's Way(2016)
Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films
Casting By(2012)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films
Guest of Cindy Sherman (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
This American Life(2007)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all shows
Apartment #5C (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)
Washington Heights (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)
Break Out (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Oz (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Untitled SAG-AFTRA Documentary (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 16 titles, 13 of them dated from 1998 to 2024.
Biggest box office
This Changes Everything (2018)
Highest rated
King of Cool (2021)
Most popular right now
Mafia Spies (2024)
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 Tom Donahue's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 85th percentile, the median of all 8; across their 8 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 82nd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up7
- 50th to 74th2
- 25th to 49th1
Shape of the crowd
4 of their 10 titles are Universally Loved.
- Universally Loved4
- Divisive1
- Cult Classic2
- Crowd Pleaser1
- Mixed2
Reviewers score the atmosphere 65/100 and the pacing 61/100 in their films, across 4 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 Tom Donahue work with?
People who share at least 2 of Tom Donahue's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Ilan Arboleda shares the most, 9.
Actors
- Robert DaviShared titles: Mafia Spies (2024), Davi's Way (2016)See all 2 shared titles with Robert Davi
- Stephen BurrowsShared titles: Bleed Out (2018), This Changes Everything (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Stephen Burrows
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Leigh RobertsShared titles: Mafia Spies (2024), King of Cool (2021), Davi's Way (2016), Thank You for Your Service (2015), Casting By (2012)See all 5 shared titles with Leigh Roberts
- Stefano FerrariShared titles: King of Cool (2021), Los Tigres del Norte at Folsom Prison (2019), This Changes Everything (2018), Davi's Way (2016)See all 4 shared titles with Stefano Ferrari
- Jill SchweitzerShared titles: Bleed Out (2018), Thank You for Your Service (2015), Casting By (2012)See all 3 shared titles with Jill Schweitzer
- Jasmin WayShared titles: This Changes Everything (2018), Davi's Way (2016)See all 2 shared titles with Jasmin Way
Producers
- Ilan ArboledaShared titles: Married to El Chapo: Emma Coronel Speaks (2025), Mafia Spies (2024), King of Cool (2021), Los Tigres del Norte at Folsom Prison (2019), Bleed Out (2018), This Changes Everything (2018), Davi's Way (2016), Thank You for Your Service (2015), Casting By (2012)See all 9 shared titles with Ilan Arboleda
- Steve EdwardsShared titles: King of Cool (2021), Bleed Out (2018), Davi's Way (2016), Thank You for Your Service (2015), Casting By (2012)See all 5 shared titles with Steve Edwards
- Jessicya MateranoShared titles: Mafia Spies (2024), King of Cool (2021), Los Tigres del Norte at Folsom Prison (2019), Bleed Out (2018)See all 4 shared titles with Jessicya Materano
- Chantel EllisShared titles: Mafia Spies (2024), King of Cool (2021), Davi's Way (2016)See all 3 shared titles with Chantel Ellis
Mixed roles
- Ron MarascoShared titles: Mafia Spies (2024), King of Cool (2021)See all 2 shared titles with Ron Marasco
