Leslye Headland (born November 26, 1980) is an American film and television director, screenwriter, and playwright. She directed the comedic films Bachelorette (2012), and Sleeping with Other People (2015). She co-created the Netflix series Russian Doll (2019–2022) which earned her two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series. She served as the creator and showrunner on the Disney+ Star Wars series The Acolyte (2024). As a playwright, she has written a string of plays based on the Seven Deadly Sins which include Assistance and Cult of Love, the latter of which marked her debut as a playwright on Broadway in 2024. Description above from the Wikipedia article Leslye Headland, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- November 26, 1980 (45)
- Maryland, USA
- Director, producer and writer, also actor
- 10 on MovieCove · 12 credits in all
What are Leslye Headland's films like?
Across their 7 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
A split, not a type: Ironic 1 · Wry 0 · Earnest 2
Light 2 · Serious 1 · Dark 0
Grounded 3 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0
A split, not a type: Gentle 2 · Charged 1 · Intense 0
Steady 1 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 0 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 2
Slow burn 0 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0
Casual 3 · Engaged 0 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 3 · Affecting 0 · Heavy 0
Resolved 3 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy1
- Bittersweet4
- Ambiguous2
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 Leslye Headland's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 10 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Leslye Headland'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
12 credits, 10 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.
Dying for Sex(2025)
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all shows
The Acolyte(2024)
Midcredits score: 1st percentile of all shows
Single Drunk Female(2022)
Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all shows
Pink & Blue (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)
Russian Doll(2019)
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all shows
Black Monday(2019)
Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all shows
Heathers(2018)
Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films
About Last Night(2014)
Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films
Bachelorette(2012)
Midcredits score: 20th percentile of all films
Terriers(2010)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all showsCult of Love (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 12 titles, 11 of them dated from 2010 to 2025.
Biggest box office
About Last Night (2014)
Highest rated
Dying for Sex (2025)
Most popular right now
The Acolyte (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
6 major nominations and no wins, 2019–2026.
- Producers Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Producer of Limited or Anthology Series Television
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series
- Writers Guild Award, nominated · Comedy Series
- Writers Guild Award, nominated · New Series
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Comedy Series
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Writing for a Comedy 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 Leslye Headland's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 44th percentile, the median of all 3; across a limited sample of 3 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 45th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up2
- 50th to 74th3
- 25th to 49th2
- Below 25th3
Shape of the crowd
4 of their 10 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved1
- Divisive1
- Crowd Pleaser4
- Mixed4
Reviewers score the pacing 48/100 in their films, across 3 reviewed titles; fans 55, detractors 33. 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 Leslye Headland's work okay for kids?
Across up to 6 MovieCove titles with content scores, sex & nudity and profanity run heavier 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 Leslye Headland work with?
People who share at least 2 of Leslye Headland's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Jason Micallef shares the most, 2.
Writers
- Jason MicallefShared titles: The Acolyte (2024), Heathers (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Jason Micallef
Actors
- Adam ScottShared titles: Sleeping with Other People (2015), Bachelorette (2012)See all 2 shared titles with Adam Scott
Composers
- Andrew FeltensteinShared titles: Sleeping with Other People (2015), Bachelorette (2012)See all 2 shared titles with Andrew Feltenstein
- John NauShared titles: Sleeping with Other People (2015), Bachelorette (2012)See all 2 shared titles with John Nau
Producers
- Adam McKayShared titles: Sleeping with Other People (2015), Bachelorette (2012)See all 2 shared titles with Adam McKay
- Jessica ElbaumShared titles: Sleeping with Other People (2015), Bachelorette (2012)See all 2 shared titles with Jessica Elbaum
- Will FerrellShared titles: Sleeping with Other People (2015), Bachelorette (2012)See all 2 shared titles with Will Ferrell
Mixed roles
- Chris TeagueShared titles: Dying for Sex (2025), The Acolyte (2024)See all 2 shared titles with Chris Teague
