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Joe Barton

Joe Barton

Writer and producer

BAFTA Award nominee

Joe Barton (born 1985) is a British screenwriter of film and television, best known for the crime series Giri/Haji, the science-fiction thriller The Lazarus Project, and the spy thriller Black Doves. Description above from the Wikipedia article Joe Barton (screenwriter), licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Read more

Biography from TMDB.

Works as
Writer and producer
Titles
13 on MovieCove · 19 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 155 days to Oct 26Up 59% in 30 days

What are Joe Barton's films like?

Across their 9 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Morality.

Genres

Action2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 26th percentile
: browse their Action movies
Drama2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 53rd percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Drama movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
31%
Morality
23%
Self
21%
Survival
20%
Power
3%
Ideas
3%
Romantic love3 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds3 titles, browse their movies with this themeTrauma3 titles, browse their movies with this themeBetrayal3 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice2 titles, browse their movies with this themeLoyalty2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 5 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 1 · Serious 0 · Dark 4

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 2 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 0

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

Gentle 0 · Charged 2 · Intense 3

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

Steady 1 · Shifting 4 · Whiplash 0

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

Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 4 · 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 0 · Engaged 5 · Full focus 0

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

A split, not a type: Easy watch 1 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 3

Open-ended: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their open-ended movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 2 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 1

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
8
Melancholic
5
Romantic
4
Thrilling
2
Dread
1
Other
4

How their films linger

Bittersweet7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 1 with a twist

  • Happy1
  • Bittersweet7
  • Tragic1

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 Joe Barton's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 12 of their 13 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Netflix (7).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Joe Barton'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

19 credits, 13 with a MovieCove page.

  • Amadeus(2025)

    Show 5 episodes · Creator · Executive Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 7th percentile of all shows

  • Black Doves(2024)

    Show 6 episodes · Creator · Executive Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all shows

  • The Union(2024)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 20th percentile of all films

  • The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself(2022)

    Show 8 episodes · Creator · Executive Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all shows

  • The Lazarus Project(2022)

    Show 16 episodes · Creator · Executive Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all shows

  • Encounter(2021)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films

  • Giri/Haji(2019)

    Show 8 episodes · Creator · Executive Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all shows

  • My Days of Mercy(2017)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films

  • Troy: Fall of a City(2018)

    Show Writer

    Midcredits score: 1st percentile of all shows

  • The Ritual(2017)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films

  • iBoy(2017)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films

  • Cuffs(2015)

    Show 1 episode · Writer

    Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all shows

  • Humans(2015)

    Show 3 episodes · Writer

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all shows

  • Our World War (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Show 3 episodes · Writer

  • Glasgow Girls (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Writer

  • Blackout (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    Writer

  • McFly: Nowhere Left to Run (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Writer

  • Hold the Devil (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Writer

  • Untitled Jason Bourne Film (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Screenplay

Career shape

A full career of 18 titles, 16 of them dated from 2010 to 2025.

Biggest box office

The Ritual (2017)

$1.8M worldwide

Highest rated

The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself (2022)

Midcredits 74th

Most popular right now

Black Doves (2024)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Writing16 of 18: 13 only writing, 3 with another role · typical Midcredits score62ndProducing5 of 18: 0 only producing, 5 with another role · typical Midcredits score64thOther crew5 of 18: 0 only other crew, 5 with another role · typical Midcredits score64th

18 titles, 5 with more than one role — writing and other crew overlap on 3 of them.

By decade

2010s10 · crew2020s6 · 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.

Awards

Nominated for a BAFTA Award in 2015, Best Mini-Series.

Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.

How do Joe Barton's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 39th percentile, the median of all 5; across their 5 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 42nd percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

42ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Approval · how many liked their films

36thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Reach · how many have seen their films

89thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Midcredits score across 13 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up2
  • 50th to 74th6
  • 25th to 49th2
  • Below 25th3

Shape of the crowd

8 of their 13 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Crowd Pleaser8
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed4

Most divisive · writer

Troy: Fall of a City (2018)

86th percentile spread · 59% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · writer

Humans (2015)

Midcredits 87th · 88% liked

Reviewers score the dialogue 50/100 and the plot and story 42/100 in their films, across 5 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.

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 Joe Barton's work okay for kids?

Across up to 9 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, sex & nudity, profanity and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore8 titles44–85 · median 65 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity9 titles21–67 · median 44 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity8 titles52–79 · median 64 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs7 titles25–52 · median 37 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense8 titles30–84 · median 62 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 39

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 Joe Barton work with?

People who share at least 2 of Joe Barton's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Julian Farino shares the most, 3.

Directors

Actors

Editors

Producers