Seth Gordon grew up in Evanston, Illinois and studied at Yale University before teaching high school in Africa. While in Kenya he helped secure finances to build a school in the village of Shimanyiro, which led to the filming of his first documentary Building Shimanyiro.

After returning to Yale he brushed up on his editing skills and helped shoot several documentaries such as the Dixie Chicks film Shut Up & Sing and his directorial debut, The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, a film about the rivalry between two gamers who were both experts at beating Donkey Kong, Billy Mitchell and Steve Wiebe.

He co-created the 2011 FOX sitcom Breaking In with Adam F. Goldberg and later teamed up with Goldberg to produce the 1980s-set ABC sitcom The Goldbergs, on which he also occasionally served as a director along with other TV comedies like Modern Family, Community, The Office and Parks and Recreation.

He served as producer and director for NBC’s Marry Me in 2014 and produces and directed the pilot for Amazon’s Sneaky Pete in 2015.

His film work includes directing the documentary Freakonomics, producing the documentary Undefeated, directing the comedies Horrible Bosses, Identity Thief and Baywatch and producing Pixels, which re-teamed him with Breaking In producer Adam Sandler.

Future projects include a remake of WarGames and a coming-of-age Netflix comedy about a boy with autism called Atypical.

Gordon has a knack for telling compelling stories whether it’s real or scripted. He often elevates average material into something hilarious and seems to know what audiences will like. His track record has been impressive from his first documentary onward. Personally The King of Kong and The Goldbergs will always be among my most fondly remembered pieces of entertainment till the day I’m an old man reminiscing Adam Goldberg-style about the best movies and shows of the early 21st century.