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Shawn Efran

Producer and director

Shawn Efran is a Peabody- and seven-time Emmy-winning producer/director. He is the founder of Efran Films, a production company focused on creating quality series for television and digital distribution. Efran Films clients include Investigation Discovery, VICE, Bravo, Lifetime, Oxygen, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time, thrillist, The Weather Channel, Telemundo, Forbes, Upworthy, Cigna, Chevy, American Express, Netflix, and many more. In 2014, Efran Films' "Women in Prison" series for the New York Times was recognized as one of the best commercials of the year. In 2015, Efran Films won an Emmy, a Polk, interviewed President Obama, and was awarded the Investigative Reporters and Editors highest honor. In 2016, the company won multiple Editor and Publisher awards. In 2017, Efran Films received an Emmy, a Webby, a Murrow, and a Loeb. Before launching Efran Films, Shawn was a producer at CBS's 60 Minutes.

Read more

Biography from TMDB.

Works as
Producer and director
Titles
14 on MovieCove · 18 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 38 days to Oct 27Down 37% in 30 days

What are Shawn Efran's films like?

Across their 13 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Bonds.

Themes

share of theme weight
Morality
37%
Bonds
16%
Society
14%
Survival
13%
Self
12%
Ideas
6%
Power
3%
Community4 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice3 titles, browse their movies with this themeDuty4 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds2 titles, browse their movies with this themeLoyalty2 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival3 titles, browse their movies with this themeDeception2 titles, browse their movies with this themeBetrayal2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 3 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 3 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0

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

Gentle 0 · Charged 3 · Intense 0

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

Steady 2 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 0

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

Straight-faced 3 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0

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

Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 1 · 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 1 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 0

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

Resolved 3 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
8
Contemplative
9
Dread
4
Melancholic
3
Hopeful
3
Other
7

How their films linger

Thought-provoking7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteInfuriating5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy1
  • Bittersweet4
  • Tragic1
  • Ambiguous5
  • Cyclical2

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 Shawn Efran's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 9 of their 14 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Paramount+ (5).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Shawn Efran'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

18 credits, 14 with a MovieCove page.

  • Jack Carr Investigates: Carlos the Jackal(2026)

    Show Producer

  • IndyCar: Anything to Win(2025)

    Executive Producer

  • Special Ops True(2025)

    Show Producer

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all shows (provisional, few ratings)

  • Nine Lives of...(2024)

    Show Producer

    Midcredits score: 3rd percentile of all shows (provisional, few ratings)

  • PD True(2024)

    Show Producer

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all shows

  • (re)solved (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)

    Show 12 episodes · Executive Producer

  • FBI True(2023)

    Show 82 episodes · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all shows

  • Never Seen Again(2022)

    Show 50 episodes · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all shows

  • 26th Street Garage: The FBI's Untold Story of 9/11(2021)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films

  • Charmed to Death(2021)

    Show Producer

    Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all shows (provisional, few ratings)

  • While the Rest of Us Die: Secrets of America's Shadow Government(2020)

    Show Producer

    Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all shows

  • Game Changers: Inside the Video Game Wars(2019)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • He Lied About Everything: Inside the Story (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    Show 3 episodes · Executive Producer

  • He Lied About Everything(2018)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films

  • Reality Cupcakes(2018)

    Show Producer

    Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all shows (provisional, few ratings)

  • The Real Death Valley: The Untold Story of Mass Graves and Migrant Deaths in South Texas (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Executive Producer · Producer

  • The Somali Project (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    Director · Executive Producer · Producer · Writer

  • Dan Rather Reports(2006)

    Show Producer

    Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all shows (provisional, few ratings)

Career shape

A full career of 8 titles from 2013 to 2025.

Most popular right now

FBI True (2023)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing1 of 8: 0 only directing, 1 with another roleWriting1 of 8: 0 only writing, 1 with another roleProducing8 of 8: 7 only producing, 1 with another role

By decade

2010s4 · crew2020s4 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it.

How do Shawn Efran's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 57th percentile, the median of the 3 of 4 with a score; across a limited sample of 3 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 64th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

64thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 3

Approval · how many liked their films

55thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 3

Reach · how many have seen their films

23rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 3

Midcredits score across 12 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up1
  • 50th to 74th6
  • 25th to 49th2
  • Below 25th3

Shape of the crowd

6 of their 12 titles are Mixed.

  • Divisive3
  • Cult Classic2
  • Crowd Pleaser1
  • Mixed6

Most divisive · producer

Dan Rather Reports (2006)

97th percentile spread · 44% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · producer

Game Changers: Inside the Video Game Wars (2019)

Midcredits 92nd · 79% liked

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 Shawn Efran work with?

People who share at least 2 of Shawn Efran's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Azadeh De Leon shares the most, 8.

Writers

Editors

Producers

Mixed roles