David Lawrence McCary (born July 2, 1985) is an American comedian, writer, producer, and director. From 2013 to 2018, he was a segment director and writer for Saturday Night Live. He is married to actress Emma Stone, with whom he co-founded Fruit Tree production company. Description above from the Wikipedia article Dave McCary, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- July 2, 1985 (41)
- San Diego, California, USA
- Producer and director, also writer
- 12 on MovieCove · 19 credits in all
What are Dave McCary's films like?
Across their 9 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Survival.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 1 · Earnest 6
A split, not a type: Light 4 · Serious 2 · Dark 1
A split, not a type: Grounded 3 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 3
Gentle 3 · Charged 4 · Intense 0
Steady 4 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 2
Slow burn 5 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0
Casual 1 · Engaged 5 · Full focus 1
Easy watch 2 · Affecting 4 · Heavy 1
Resolved 2 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 2
Moods and endings
- Bittersweet6
- Ambiguous3
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 Dave McCary's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 9 of their 12 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on HBO Max (3).
Subscription and free streaming for Dave McCary'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, 12 with a MovieCove page.
The Catch (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2027)
The Debut(2026)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films
The Yogurt Shop Murders(2025)
Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all shows
Y2K(2024)
Midcredits score: 8th percentile of all films
A Real Pain(2024)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films
Fantasmas(2024)
Midcredits score: 43rd percentile of all shows
I Saw the TV Glow(2024)
Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films
Problemista(2023)
Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films
The Curse(2023)
Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films
Brigsby Bear(2017)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films
Kyle Christmas Special (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
Epic Rap Battles of History (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)
Checkmate (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Dennis (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Untitled Dea Kulumbegashvili Film (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Untitled Raunchy Teen Comedy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 19 titles, 13 of them dated from 2010 to 2025.
Biggest box office
A Real Pain (2024)
Highest rated
The Debut (2026)
Most popular right now
A Real Pain (2024)
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
2 major awards from 15 major nominations, 2016–2026.
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series
- Independent Spirit Award, nominated · Best Feature
- Independent Spirit Award, nominated · Best First Feature
- Independent Spirit Award, nominated · Best New Scripted Series
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series
- Writers Guild Award, nominated · Comedy/Variety Sketch Series
- Writers Guild Award, nominated · Comedy/Variety Sketch Series
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series
+1 other major body · 1 win
- Writers Guild Award, won · Comedy/Variety Sketch Series
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series
+3 other major bodies · 1 win and 2 nominations
- Cannes award, nominated
- Sundance award, nominated · Dramatic
- Writers Guild Award, won · Comedy/Variety Sketch Series
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series
+1 other major body · 1 nomination
- Writers Guild Award, nominated · Comedy/Variety - Sketch 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 Dave McCary's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 79th percentile, the median of all 8; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 85th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up5
- 50th to 74th2
- 25th to 49th3
- Below 25th2
Shape of the crowd
6 of their 12 titles are Mixed.
- Universally Panned1
- Crowd Pleaser5
- Mixed6
Reviewers score the atmosphere 71/100 and the pacing 45/100 in their films, across 7 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 Dave McCary's work okay for kids?
Across up to 5 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore runs lighter than most 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 Dave McCary work with?
People who share at least 2 of Dave McCary's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Emma Stone shares the most, 8.
Directors
- Jesse EisenbergShared titles: The Debut (2026), A Real Pain (2024), When You Finish Saving the World (2022)See all 3 shared titles with Jesse Eisenberg
Writers
- Julio TorresShared titles: Problemista (2023), My Favorite Shapes by Julio Torres (2019)See all 2 shared titles with Julio Torres
- Kyle MooneyShared titles: Saturday Morning All Star Hits! (2021), Brigsby Bear (2017)See all 2 shared titles with Kyle Mooney
Actors
- Emma StoneShared titles: The Debut (2026), The Yogurt Shop Murders (2025), A Real Pain (2024), I Saw the TV Glow (2024), Problemista (2023), When You Finish Saving the World (2022), Saturday Morning All Star Hits! (2021), My Favorite Shapes by Julio Torres (2019)See all 8 shared titles with Emma Stone
- Julianne MooreShared titles: The Debut (2026), When You Finish Saving the World (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Julianne Moore
Editors
- Sara ShawShared titles: Problemista (2023), When You Finish Saving the World (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Sara Shaw
Producers
- Ali HertingShared titles: The Debut (2026), The Yogurt Shop Murders (2025), A Real Pain (2024), I Saw the TV Glow (2024), Problemista (2023), When You Finish Saving the World (2022)See all 6 shared titles with Ali Herting
- Becky GlupczynskiShared titles: A Real Pain (2024), Problemista (2023), When You Finish Saving the World (2022)See all 3 shared titles with Becky Glupczynski
- Ryan HellerShared titles: The Debut (2026), A Real Pain (2024)See all 2 shared titles with Ryan Heller
- Kevin KellyShared titles: A Real Pain (2024), I Saw the TV Glow (2024)See all 2 shared titles with Kevin Kelly