Lynn Shelton established herself as an indie filmmaker, but she transferred her gifts to television

Vulture

Shelton, who died Saturday at age 54, kicked off her TV directing career with a 2010 episode of Mad Men. "In the wide span of TV work that she did over the past decade, she brought her innate understanding of people to an array of different projects — prestige dramas, broadcast network sitcoms, experimental dramedies in keeping with her mumblecore roots," says Jen Chaney. "She was an auteur in the movie world, one who most often wrote and directed her films in a collaborative spirit that still hewed to her vision. In the TV realm, she was an auteur for hire, who was able to merge her vision with other people’s work in a way that allowed all creative partners to shine." Shelton specialized in directing episodes with comedy and sadness with messy lives. "You could watch your way through the many episodes of television Shelton directed — for New Girl, Fresh Off the Boat, The Good Place, Love, Dickinson, The Morning Show, Shameless, the comedy specials by her partner, Marc Maron — and find moments like this, that are honest and real and tinged with joy," says Chaney. "Shelton’s work also was a constant reminder that, despite its many flaws, being alive is a wild, bizarre blessing."