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Payman Benz

Payman Benz

Director, also producer · Iran

Payman Benz (born January 31, 1978) is an Iranian-born American television director, producer, writer, and editor. He is primarily known for directing comedy television series, including The Last Man on Earth, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Good Place, Black Monday, A.P. Bio, Great News, Robbie, Blockbuster, Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, and Chad Powers. He has also directed commercials for brands including Nike, Adidas, DirecTV, and PayPal.

Read more

Biography from TMDB.

From
Iran
Works as
Director, also producer
Titles
17 on MovieCove · 21 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Official site (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 155 days to Oct 26Down 32% in 30 days

What are Payman Benz's films like?

Across their 8 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Society and Self.

Themes

share of theme weight
Society
43%
Self
33%
Bonds
16%
Morality
5%
Power
2%
Community3 titles, browse their movies with this themePrejudice2 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity2 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose2 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Absurd
5
Joyful
4
Warm
5
Tense
1
Contemplative
2
Other
3

How their films linger

Fun7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteWistful2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy1
  • Bittersweet2
  • Ambiguous4
  • 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 Payman Benz's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 12 of their 17 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Payman Benz'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

21 credits, 17 with a MovieCove page.

  • Chad Powers(2025)

    Show 2 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all shows

  • Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty(2022)

    Show 2 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all shows

  • Blockbuster(2022)

    Show Director

    Midcredits score: 2nd percentile of all shows

  • Grand Crew(2021)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all shows

  • Beth Stelling: Girl Daddy(2020)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films

  • Robbie(2020)

    Show Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all shows

  • Black Monday(2019)

    Show 9 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all shows

  • Who Is America?(2018)

    Show 2 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all shows

  • A.P. Bio(2018)

    Show 2 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all shows

  • Great News(2017)

    Show 2 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all shows

  • Making History(2017)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all shows

  • The Good Place(2016)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all shows

  • Son of Zorn(2016)

    Show 2 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all shows

  • Angie Tribeca (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • The Last Man on Earth(2015)

    Show 8 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all shows

  • Key and Peele: Super Bowl Special (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Director

  • Why? With Hannibal Buress(2015)

    Show Director

    Midcredits score: 3rd percentile of all shows

  • Brooklyn Nine-Nine(2013)

    Show 4 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all shows

  • Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star(2011)

    as Chop Restaurant Valet

    Midcredits score: 2nd percentile of all films

  • Needle Anus (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    Director · Editor · Executive Producer · Writer · as Narrator

  • The Tommy Wi-Show (2011) (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Show 10 episodes · Director

Career shape

A full career of 18 titles, 17 of them dated from 2005 to 2025.

Highest rated

Who Is America? (2018)

Midcredits 89th

Most popular right now

The Last Man on Earth (2015)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting2 of 18: 1 only acting, 1 with another roleDirecting17 of 18: 16 only directing, 1 with another role · typical Midcredits score68thWriting1 of 18: 0 only writing, 1 with another roleProducing1 of 18: 0 only producing, 1 with another roleEditing1 of 18: 0 only editing, 1 with another role

By decade

2000s1 · 1 acting · 1 crew2010s12 · 1 acting · 11 crew2020s4 · 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.

Is Payman Benz's work okay for kids?

Across a limited sample of up to 3 MovieCove titles with content scores.

Their medianMedian of all films
Sex & Nudity3 titlesmedian 46 · moderateMedian of all films: 32

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.

Who does Payman Benz work with?

People who share at least 2 of Payman Benz's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Claire Scanlon shares the most, 3.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Cinematographers

Producers