Warren Leight is a writer and showrunner who is currently helming Law & Order: Special Victims Unit during its historic 21st season. Previously, he developed new projects for Sony's television division and was showrunner and Executive Producer of the NBC drama, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit from 2011 - 2016 (Imagen, NAACP and PRISM Awards). He was also showrunner and Executive Producer of HBO's Peabody Award-winning In Treatment, the FX drama Lights Out, and the Edgar-winning Law and Order: Criminal Intent. He wrote and directed "The Night We Never Met," and co-wrote the documentary "Before the Nickelodeon" (New York Film Festival). Warren's play "Side Man" won the 1999 Tony Award for Best Play, and was a 1999 Pulitzer Prize Finalist. Other plays include "No Foreigners Beyond This Point" (Drama Desk nomination), "Home Front", "Fame Takes a Holiday," "Glimmer, Glimmer and Shine" (ATCA nomination) and "The Loop." He wrote the book to the musical "Mayor" (Drama Desk nomination) and co-wrote the book to "Leap of Faith" (Tony Award nomination). Two collections of one-acts, "Dark, No Sugar," and "Stray Cats," have been published by DPS. His many articles and humor pieces have appeared in dozens of periodicals including the International Herald Tribune, Rolling Stone, Village Voice, Mademoiselle, National Lampoon and BOMB magazine. Warren is a former President of The Writer's Guild of America, East, and is a current member of the Dramatists' Guild council. He is an enthusiastic supporter of The 24 Hour Plays. Warren is a graduate of Stanford University. He lives with his wife and daughters in New York City.
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Biography from IMDb.
- January 17, 1957 (69)
- Sunnyside, Queens, New York City, New York, USA
- Writer, producer and director
- 12 on MovieCove · 13 credits in all
What are Warren Leight's films like?
Across their 8 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Morality.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
A split, not a type: Ironic 3 · Wry 0 · Earnest 3
A split, not a type: Light 4 · Serious 0 · Dark 2
Grounded 2 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 2
A split, not a type: Gentle 2 · Charged 1 · Intense 3
Steady 2 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 2
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 2 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 4
Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 2
Casual 5 · Engaged 0 · Full focus 1
Easy watch 4 · Affecting 0 · Heavy 2
Resolved 6 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy2
- Bittersweet1
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous4
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 Warren Leight's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 9 of their 12 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Warren Leight'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
13 credits, 12 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.
CIA(2026)
Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all shows
Chicago P.D.(2014)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all shows
Lights Out(2011)
Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all shows
Mother's Day(2010)
Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films
In Treatment(2008)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all shows
100 Centre Street (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all shows
Dear God(1996)
Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films
The Night We Never Met(1993)
Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all films
Me and Him(1988)
Midcredits score: 7th percentile of all films
Stuck on You!(1983)
Midcredits score: 10th percentile of all films
Mother's Day(1980)
Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all films
Career shape
A full career of 13 titles from 1980 to 2026.
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
Won a Writers Guild Award in 2006.
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 Warren Leight's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 23rd percentile, the median of all 6; across their 6 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 24th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up5
- 25th to 49th4
- Below 25th3
Shape of the crowd
6 of their 12 titles are Mixed.
- Universally Loved3
- Universally Panned1
- Crowd Pleaser2
- Mixed6
Reviewers score the dialogue 48/100 and the plot and story 35/100 in their films, across 6 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 Warren Leight's work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 4 MovieCove titles with content scores.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.
Who does Warren Leight work with?
People who share at least 2 of Warren Leight's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Lloyd Kaufman shares the most, 3.
Writers
- Charles KaufmanShared titles: Mother's Day (2010), Mother's Day (1980)See all 2 shared titles with Charles Kaufman
Producers
- Lloyd KaufmanShared titles: Mother's Day (2010), Stuck on You! (1983), Mother's Day (1980)See all 3 shared titles with Lloyd Kaufman
- Michael HerzShared titles: Stuck on You! (1983), Mother's Day (1980)See all 2 shared titles with Michael Herz
