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John Maggio

John Maggio

Director, producer and writer

Writers Guild Award nominee · Independent Spirit Award nominee

John Maggio is a producer, director, and writer known for The Newspaperman: The Life and Times of Ben Bradlee (2017), Panic (2018) The Italian Americans (2015) American Experience (1988), Frontline (1983) and Virgil Bliss (2001). His work has been honored with the Emmy Award, Writers Guild Award, Producers Guild Award Nomination and multiple News and Documentary Emmy Award Nominations .

Read more

Biography from IMDb.

Works as
Director, producer and writer
Titles
15 on MovieCove · 30 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 156 days to Oct 27Down 46% in 30 days

What are John Maggio's films like?

Across their 14 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Society and Ideas.

Themes

share of theme weight
Society
33%
Ideas
20%
Self
18%
Power
13%
Morality
9%
Survival
4%
Bonds
3%
Legacy7 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity4 titles, browse their movies with this themeArt4 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity4 titles, browse their movies with this themeAmbition3 titles, browse their movies with this themePower2 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 11 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 5 · Serious 2 · Dark 4

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

Grounded 11 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0

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

Gentle 4 · Charged 7 · Intense 0

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

Steady 11 · Shifting 0 · Whiplash 0

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

Straight-faced 10 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0

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

Slow burn 9 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0

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

Casual 2 · Engaged 8 · Full focus 1

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

Resolved 8 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Contemplative
12
Warm
7
Tense
5
Hopeful
5
Joyful
2
Other
2

How their films linger

Thought-provoking7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteWistful2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy5
  • Bittersweet6
  • Ambiguous3

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 Maggio's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 12 of their 15 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on HBO Max (7).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for John Maggio'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

30 credits, 15 with a MovieCove page.

  • Armani and the Birth of Italian Fashion(2026)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Seen & Heard: The History of Black Television(2025)

    Show 2 episodes · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 8th percentile of all shows

  • Paul Anka: His Way(2024)

    Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films

  • Milano: The Inside Story of Italian Fashion (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)

    Director

  • Year One: A Political Odyssey(2022)

    Director · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all films

  • Mr. Saturday Night(2021)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films

  • A Choice of Weapons: Inspired by Gordon Parks(2021)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films

  • The Perfect Weapon(2020)

    Director · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all films

  • The Poison Squad (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)

    Director · Producer · Writer

  • Korea: The Never-Ending War(2019)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films

  • Corée (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

    Show 2 episodes · Director

  • Panic: The Untold Story of the 2008 Financial Crisis(2018)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all films

  • Into the Amazon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    Director · Producer

  • The Newspaperman: The Life and Times of Ben Bradlee(2017)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • Bonnie & Clyde (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Director · Producer · Writer

  • The Italian Americans (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Director

  • The Italian Americans (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Show 4 episodes · Creator · Writer

  • Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Director

  • Billy the Kid (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)

    Director · Writer

  • Finding Your Roots(2012)

    Show Producer

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all shows

  • Looking for Lincoln(2009)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • The Lobotomist (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

    Director · Additional Editing · Producer

  • The Boy in the Bubble (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)

    Director

  • Ten Days That Unexpectedly Changed America(2006)

    Show Director

    Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all shows (provisional, few ratings)

  • Kinsey (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    Director

  • New York at the Movies(2002)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films

  • Virgil Bliss (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

    Producer

  • Gargoyle Girls (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)

    as Jerry

  • American Experience(1988)

    Show 2 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all shows

  • The Act of Dreaming (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director

Career shape

A full career of 27 titles, 26 of them dated from 1988 to 2026.

Highest rated

Finding Your Roots (2012)

Midcredits 91st

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting1 of 27: 1 only acting, 0 with another roleDirecting23 of 27: 12 only directing, 11 with another role · typical Midcredits score84thWriting4 of 27: 0 only writing, 4 with another roleProducing12 of 27: 2 only producing, 10 with another role · typical Midcredits score84thOther crew2 of 27: 0 only other crew, 2 with another role

27 titles, 12 with more than one role — directing and producing overlap on 10 of them.

By decade

1980s1 · crew1990s1 · acting2000s5 · crew2010s10 · crew2020s9 · 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.

Awards

3 major nominations and no wins, 2002–2026.

  1. 2026
    • Independent Spirit Award, nominated · Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series
  2. 2019
    • Writers Guild Award, nominated · Documentary Script - Other Than Current Events
  3. 2002
    • Independent Spirit Award, nominated

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 John Maggio's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 84th percentile, the median of all 11; across their 11 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 84th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

84thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 11

Approval · how many liked their films

84thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 11

Reach · how many have seen their films

46thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 11

Midcredits score across 15 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up10
  • 50th to 74th1
  • 25th to 49th2
  • Below 25th2

Shape of the crowd

7 of their 15 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Divisive1
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser7
  • Mixed5

Most divisive · director, producer

Year One: A Political Odyssey (2022)

90th percentile spread · 56% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director, producer

Korea: The Never-Ending War (2019)

Midcredits 94th · 84% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 58/100 and the pacing 54/100 in their films, across 9 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 Maggio work with?

People who share at least 2 of John Maggio's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Gary Lionelli shares the most, 5.

Directors

Writers

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles