James Burrows, master of TV sitcoms from 'Cheers' to 'Friends,' dies at 85
The TV world mourns James Burrows, the director and co-creator of 'Cheers' whose five-decade career shaped sitcoms from 'Taxi' to 'The Big Bang Theory.' He died on 19 June 2026 at 85.
A career that defined TV comedy
James Burrows directed more than 1,000 episodes of television and collected 11 Emmy Awards across a career that began in the mid-1970s. His credits read like a timeline of the American sitcom: 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show,' 'Taxi,' 'Cheers,' 'Frasier,' 'Friends,' 'Will & Grace,' 'The Big Bang Theory' and dozens more. He was nominated for a record 22 Directors Guild Awards and received 47 Emmy nods in total. Few individuals have cast a longer shadow over the multi-camera comedy form.
- Began directing with 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show'
- Directed pilot and 75 episodes of 'Taxi'
- Co-created 'Cheers', directed 236 episodes
- Directed pilot of 'Frasier'
- Directed pilot and 15 episodes of 'Friends'
- Started directing every episode of 'Will & Grace'
- Directed pilot of 'The Big Bang Theory'
- Directed 'Mid-Century Modern', his final series
Co-creator of 'Cheers' and the 'pilot whisperer'
Burrows co-created 'Cheers' with brothers Glen and Les Charles in 1982 and directed 236 of its 270 episodes. That same touch launched countless other hits: he helmed the pilots of 'Frasier,' 'Friends,' 'Will & Grace,' '3rd Rock from the Sun,' 'Two and a Half Men' and 'The Big Bang Theory.' On 'Will & Grace' he directed every episode of both the original run and the 2017-20 revival, 246 episodes in total. His episode counts for other signature series are shown below.
- Will & Grace (1998-2020)
- 246 episodes
- Cheers (1982-1993)
- 236 episodes
- Taxi (1978-1983)
- 75 episodes
- Mike & Molly
- 49 episodes
- Frasier
- 36 episodes
- Friends
- 15 episodes
Stars and network pay tribute
Tony Danza, who worked with Burrows on 75 episodes of 'Taxi,' wrote on X:
Eric McCormack, the star of 'Will & Grace,' said on Instagram:We have lost the greatest of all time. Jimmy Burrows. I know I wouldn't be here without him.
NBC, the network that aired many of his shows, called BurrowsWe lost a giant today, a mentor to me and a dear friend. The 800 lb gorilla of television comedy for fifty years, he was beloved by everyone, and has left not a mark but a footprint.
the man behind the curtain. He knew how to make us laugh, what buttons to push and was the absolute master of getting the most out of every joke. His loss to the television comedy world is immeasurable.
A theatre director at heart
Born in Los Angeles to Abe Burrows, the librettist of 'Guys and Dolls,' James Burrows earned a graduate degree from the Yale School of Drama before breaking into television. He famously treated each episode as a 22-minute stage play, ignoring the cameras until the performance was right. In a 2023 interview he explained:
That focus on character and ensemble chemistry became his signature.I'm not a film director. The camera, I leave that to Spielberg and Scorsese. I'm a theatre rat. I stage a play every week, a 20 to 25 minute play and then my camera comes in and covers it.
His final directing credit, the 2025 Hulu comedy 'Mid-Century Modern,' earned him his 47th Emmy nomination at age 84. Burrows died peacefully surrounded by his family, leaving a body of work that, as NBC put it, made all our lives funnier.
