Kenny Young is a talented and prolific African-American director, screenwriter, and story consultant. As an established pro, he has acquired a notable list of film directing and writing credits. A Chicago native, Kenny currently lives in Los Angeles where he's partnered with Phil James in his company, James Young Entertainment. Under this company, Kenny Young wrote & directed: Redrum (featuring Jenifer Lewis, Jill Marie Jones, and Danny Woodburn) and C'Mon Man (featuring Clifton Powell, Kim Whitley, Aries Spears, and Tommy Davidson), which aired on Showtime, Starz!, and TMC. Kenny also wrote and directed Bachelors (featuring Fred Willard, David Faustino, Anna Hutchison, and Gary Owen), winning "Best Narrative Film" and "Best Director" at the 2015 American Black Film Festival. The film was purchased by Lionsgate. Early in his career, he optioned a script, Step In The Name Of Love, to MGM Studios with R&B sensation Usher attached to star, and garnered write-ups in the Hollywood Reporter and Variety. Kenny's first feature film he wrote, One Week, was theatrically released and achieved the 2nd highest per screen average in the nation. It also won best "Narrative Film" at the American Black Film Festival and Urbanworld Film Festival. It also screened at the Toronto Film Festival, The Chicago International Film Festival, and the LA Pan-African Film Festival. The film still screens nationally on "World AIDS Day." Kenny has also worked with TVOne where he directed Merry Ex-Mas (featuring London Brown, Sean Patrick Thomas, Angel Conwell, and Clifton Powell). The project became the network's third highest-rated original film of 2016. The success of this film garnered more opportunities for him to direct projects. In 2017, Kenny directed Miss Me This Christmas (featuring Erica Ash, Allen Maldonado, Eva Marcille, and Redaric Williams) and You Can't Stop Christmas (featuring Brely Evans, Persia White, Andra Fuller, Marla Gibbs, and Nathan Davis Jr.), both of which will premiere on TV One network later this year and air on Netflix December 2017. Always looking to make a mark in the industry, Kenny wrote and produced the animated feature film Chance. Premiering at the 2017 Dances with Films Festival, Chance is the story of a peaceful pit bull that struggles to maintain his values while surviving in the brutal world of dogfighting. The film is gaining global viral buzz with over a million views of the trailer. Chance received praise in the Huffington Post and is being championed internationally by various animal rights activist groups such as the Anti-Dogfighting campaign, Pit-Bull Rescue Central, Doghouse Bully Crew, and many more. In addition, Kenny has been commissioned to write scripts for legendary writer/director Robert Townsend, legendary actor/director Bill Duke, and legendary rapper Nas. He has also served as story consult on several film projects. As an exciting writer/director with recognizable credits in mainstream Hollywood, Kenny Young is a creative force to be watched.
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Biography from IMDb.
- August 21, 1971 (55)
- Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Director, actor and writer
- 6 on MovieCove · 17 credits in all
Known for
What are Kenny Young's films like?
Across their 5 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 1 · Earnest 3
A split, not a type: Light 3 · Serious 0 · Dark 1
Grounded 4 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0
Gentle 2 · Charged 2 · Intense 0
Steady 2 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 0
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 2
A split, not a type: Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 1 · Relentless 0
Casual 4 · Engaged 0 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 3 · Affecting 0 · Heavy 1
Resolved 3 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0
Roles they play
- Shadowas Brian in Redrum (2007)
Moods and endings
- Happy2
- Bittersweet1
- Ambiguous2
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 Kenny Young's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 5 of their 6 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Kenny Young'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
17 credits, 6 with a MovieCove page.
Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Queens of Christmas (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)
Too Many Christmases (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)
Never Alone For Christmas (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)
Kold x Windy(2023)
Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all shows
Chance(2019)
Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films
Miss Me This Christmas (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)
You Can't Fight Christmas (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)
Merry Ex-Mas (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
Bachelors(2015)
Midcredits score: 4th percentile of all films
C'mon Man (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
Into The Woods (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
Redrum(2007)
Midcredits score: 7th percentile of all films
One Week (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)
ER(1994)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all showsGangs of LA 1991 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Streetball: Game Over (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 17 titles, 15 of them dated from 1994 to 2025.
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 Kenny Young's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 19th percentile, the median of all 4; across a limited sample of 4 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 6th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up1
- 25th to 49th3
- Below 25th2
Shape of the crowd
3 of their 6 titles are Divisive.
- Divisive3
- Crowd Pleaser1
- Mixed2
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 Kenny Young work with?
People who share at least 2 of Kenny Young's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Phil James shares the most, 5.
Cinematographers and editors
- Euripides NúñezShared titles: Never Alone for Christmas: Memphis (2025), Kold x Windy (2023), Redrum (2007)See all 3 shared titles with Euripides Núñez
- Sean OlsonShared titles: Never Alone for Christmas: Memphis (2025), Kold x Windy (2023)See all 2 shared titles with Sean Olson
- Phil LeeShared titles: Kold x Windy (2023), Redrum (2007)See all 2 shared titles with Phil Lee
Producers
- Phil JamesShared titles: Never Alone for Christmas: Memphis (2025), Kold x Windy (2023), Chance (2019), Bachelors (2015), Redrum (2007)See all 5 shared titles with Phil James
- Lisa Diane WashingtonShared titles: Kold x Windy (2023), Bachelors (2015)See all 2 shared titles with Lisa Diane Washington
- Felicia JamesShared titles: Chance (2019), Bachelors (2015)See all 2 shared titles with Felicia James