Arlene Sanford is an American film and television director. Sanford has directed for several present-day network television series and several motion picture and television movies which include A Very Brady Sequel, I'll Be Home for Christmas and Welcome Home. More recently, Sanford has directed episodes of ABC's popular soap drama, Desperate Housewives and also two episodes of Boston Legal.
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Biography from TMDB.
- USA
- Director, also writer
- 47 on MovieCove · 96 credits in all
Known for
What are Arlene Sanford's films like?
Across their 9 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Bonds.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 2 · Wry 0 · Earnest 5
Light 5 · Serious 2 · Dark 0
A split, not a type: Grounded 4 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 2
A split, not a type: Gentle 4 · Charged 1 · Intense 2
Steady 3 · Shifting 4 · Whiplash 0
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 2 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 3
Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 0
Casual 6 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 6 · Affecting 0 · Heavy 1
Resolved 7 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy5
- Bittersweet2
- Ambiguous1
- Cyclical1
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 Arlene Sanford's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 41 of their 47 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Hulu (15).
- Boston Legal (2004) · director
- White Collar (2009) · director
- The Wonder Years (1988) · director
- Malcolm in the Middle (2000) · director
- Gilmore Girls (2000) · director
- Bones (2005) · director
- Everybody Hates Chris (2005) · director
- Desperate Housewives (2004) · director
- Switched at Birth (2011) · director
- Grey's Anatomy (2005) · director
- Pretty Little Liars (2010) · director
- Baby Daddy (2012) · director
- +3 more
- Psych (2006) · director
- Monk (2002) · director
- Bones (2005) · director
- Everybody Hates Chris (2005) · director
- Desperate Housewives (2004) · director
- Everwood (2002) · director
- Drop Dead Diva (2009) · director
- Grey's Anatomy (2005) · director · free
- My Boys (2006) · director
- Coach (1989) · director
- On Our Own (1977) · writer
- White Collar (2009) · director · free
- Monk (2002) · director · free
- Everybody Hates Chris (2005) · director · free
- Madam Secretary (2014) · director · free
- The Royals (2015) · director · free
- Medium (2005) · director · free
- Men at Work (2012) · director · free
- Coach (1989) · director · free
- Eve (2003) · director · free
Subscription and free streaming for Arlene Sanford'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
96 credits, 47 with a MovieCove page.
Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all shows
Grace and Frankie(2015)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all shows
Younger(2015)
Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all shows
The Royals(2015)
Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all shows
Madam Secretary(2014)
Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all shows
Young & Hungry(2014)
Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all shows
Ravenswood (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
Emily Owens, M.D. (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
Nashville(2012)
Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all shows
Baby Daddy(2012)
Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all shows
Men at Work(2012)
Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films
Switched at Birth(2011)
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all shows
Franklin & Bash(2011)
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all shows
Pretty Little Liars(2010)
Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all shows
12 Men of Christmas(2009)
Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films
White Collar(2009)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all shows
Drop Dead Diva(2009)
Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all shows
The Starter Wife (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Unhitched (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Lipstick Jungle(2008)
Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all shows
The Wedding Bells (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
My Boys(2006)
Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all shows
3 lbs (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
The Game (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
Psych(2006)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all shows
Pepper Dennis (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
Everybody Hates Chris(2005)
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all showsLove, Inc. (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)
Bones(2005)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all shows
Weeds(2005)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all showsThe Bad Girl's Guide (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)
Grey's Anatomy(2005)
Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all shows
Medium(2005)
Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all shows
Boston Legal(2004)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all shows
Desperate Housewives(2004)
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all shows
Kevin Hill (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
Arrested Development(2003)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all shows
Miss Match (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)
I'm with Her (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)
Rock Me Baby (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)
Eve(2003)
Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all shows
Everwood(2002)
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all shows
Monk(2002)
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all shows
Frank McKlusky, C.I.(2002)
Midcredits score: 9th percentile of all films
Go Fish (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)
Boston Public (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)
Ed (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)
Gilmore Girls(2000)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all shows
Girlfriends(2000)
Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all shows
Battery Park (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)
Malcolm in the Middle(2000)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all shows
Wasteland (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)
The West Wing(1999)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows
Once and Again (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)
Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films
Dawson's Creek(1998)
Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all shows
Union Square (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)
Ally McBeal(1997)
Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all shows
Temporarily Yours (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)
A Very Brady Sequel(1996)
Midcredits score: 43rd percentile of all filmsThe Last Frontier (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)
Too Something (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)
Caroline in the City(1995)
Midcredits score: 20th percentile of all shows
The Naked Truth (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)
Simon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)
Pride & Joy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)
The Great Defender (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)
Pig Sty (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)
Friends(1994)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all shows
All-American Girl (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)
Midcredits score: 27th percentile of all filmsThe Second Half (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)
Almost Home (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)
Camp Wilder (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)
The Torkelsons (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)
Sisters (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)
Cop Rock (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
True Colors (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
Ferris Bueller (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
Dream On (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
Personals(1990)
Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all films
Open House (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)
Coach(1989)
Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all showsAnnie McGuire (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)
Dear John (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)
Eisenhower and Lutz (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)
The Wonder Years(1988)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all shows
Hooperman (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)
The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)
Duet (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)
Designing Women(1986)
Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all shows
The Ellen Burstyn Show (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)
Newhart (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)
On Our Own(1977)
Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all shows (provisional, few ratings)Eight Days a Week (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 95 titles, 94 of them dated from 1982 to 2019.
Biggest box office
A Very Brady Sequel (1996)
Highest rated
Good Luck Charlie, It's Christmas! (2011)
Most popular right now
Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists (2019)
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 Arlene Sanford's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 32nd percentile, the median of all 7; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 32nd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up23
- 50th to 74th11
- 25th to 49th9
- Below 25th4
Shape of the crowd
23 of their 47 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved11
- Crowd Pleaser23
- Mixed13
Reviewers score the atmosphere 50/100 and the pacing 48/100 in their films, across 6 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.
Is Arlene Sanford's work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 4 MovieCove titles with content scores.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.
Who does Arlene Sanford work with?
People who share at least 2 of Arlene Sanford's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Anita Brandt Burgoyne shares the most, 4.
Actors
- Gary ColeShared titles: I'll Be Home for Christmas (1998), A Very Brady Sequel (1996)See all 2 shared titles with Gary Cole
Composers and editors
- Anita Brandt BurgoyneShared titles: Good Luck Charlie, It's Christmas! (2011), 12 Men of Christmas (2009), I'll Be Home for Christmas (1998), A Very Brady Sequel (1996)See all 4 shared titles with Anita Brandt Burgoyne
- David LawrenceShared titles: Good Luck Charlie, It's Christmas! (2011), 12 Men of Christmas (2009)See all 2 shared titles with David Lawrence
Producers
- Tracey TrenchShared titles: Frank McKlusky, C.I. (2002), I'll Be Home for Christmas (1998)See all 2 shared titles with Tracey Trench
- John DanylkiwShared titles: The Babymaker: The Dr. Cecil Jacobson Story (1994), Personals (1990)See all 2 shared titles with John Danylkiw
