Hugh Wilson (August 21, 1943 - January 14, 2018) was an American director, writer and actor. He was best known as the creator and executive producer of the TV series WKRP in Cincinnati and Frank's Place. Hugh was a distinguished alumnus from the College of Journalism and Communications at the University of Florida in Gainesville. He was a guest professor of Media Studies at the University of Virginia. The character of Bailey Quarters on WKRP was based on Wilson's wife. Description above from the Wikipedia article Hugh Wilson (director), licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- August 21, 1943
- January 14, 2018 (aged 74)
- Miami, Florida, USA
- Director, writer, actor and producer
- 13 on MovieCove · 24 credits in all
What are Hugh Wilson's films like?
Across their 10 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 2 · Earnest 7
Light 9 · Serious 1 · Dark 0
A split, not a type: Grounded 6 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 2
Gentle 8 · Charged 2 · Intense 0
Steady 9 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 9
Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 7 · Relentless 0
Casual 9 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 9 · Affecting 0 · Heavy 1
Resolved 10 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy7
- Bittersweet3
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 Hugh Wilson's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 9 of their 13 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Hugh Wilson'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
24 credits, 13 with a MovieCove page.
Mickey (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
One More Kiss(1999)
Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films
Dudley Do-Right(1999)
Midcredits score: 4th percentile of all films
Blast from the Past(1999)
Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films
Southie (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)
Rough Riders(1997)
Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all shows
The First Wives Club(1996)
Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films
Down Periscope(1996)
Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films
Guarding Tess(1994)
Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films
The New WKRP in Cincinnati (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)
Sunday in Paris (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)
Sunday in Paris (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)
The Famous Teddy Z (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)
Frank's Place (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)
Burglar(1987)
Midcredits score: 19th percentile of all films
Easy Street (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)
Rustlers' Rhapsody(1985)
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films
Police Academy(1984)
Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films
Stroker Ace(1983)
Midcredits score: 15th percentile of all films
WKRP in Cincinnati(1978)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all shows
The Chopped Liver Brothers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1977)
The Tony Randall Show (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)
The Bob Newhart Show(1972)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all showsThe Bagel Report (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)
Career shape
A full career of 24 titles from 1972 to 2004.
Biggest box office
The First Wives Club (1996)
Highest rated
Blast from the Past (1999)
Most popular right now
Guarding Tess (1994)
Film career
- 1987Screen debut· Burglar
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 Hugh Wilson's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 50th percentile, the median of all 10; across their 10 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 49th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up2
- 50th to 74th6
- 25th to 49th2
- Below 25th3
Shape of the crowd
7 of their 13 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved2
- Universally Panned1
- Crowd Pleaser7
- Mixed3
Reviewers score the atmosphere 56/100 and the pacing 46/100 in their films, across 10 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 Hugh Wilson's work okay for kids?
Across up to 5 MovieCove titles with content scores, 1 of the 5 categories 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 Hugh Wilson work with?
People who share at least 2 of Hugh Wilson's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Don Yesso shares the most, 3.
Actors
- Don YessoShared titles: Blast from the Past (1999), Dudley Do-Right (1999), Guarding Tess (1994)See all 3 shared titles with Don Yesso
- G.W. BaileyShared titles: Burglar (1987), Rustlers' Rhapsody (1985), Police Academy (1984)See all 3 shared titles with G.W. Bailey
- Brendan FraserShared titles: Blast from the Past (1999), Dudley Do-Right (1999)See all 2 shared titles with Brendan Fraser
- Sarah Jessica ParkerShared titles: Dudley Do-Right (1999), The First Wives Club (1996)See all 2 shared titles with Sarah Jessica Parker
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Steve DorffShared titles: Blast from the Past (1999), Dudley Do-Right (1999), Rustlers' Rhapsody (1985)See all 3 shared titles with Steve Dorff
- Don BrochuShared titles: Blast from the Past (1999), Dudley Do-Right (1999)See all 2 shared titles with Don Brochu
- Donald E. ThorinShared titles: Dudley Do-Right (1999), The First Wives Club (1996)See all 2 shared titles with Donald E. Thorin
- José Luis AlcaineShared titles: Blast from the Past (1999), Rustlers' Rhapsody (1985)See all 2 shared titles with José Luis Alcaine
Producers
- Mary KaneShared titles: Blast from the Past (1999), Dudley Do-Right (1999)See all 2 shared titles with Mary Kane
- Michael GreenShared titles: Burglar (1987), Rustlers' Rhapsody (1985)See all 2 shared titles with Michael Green