Steven Conrad

Steven Conrad (born 20 May 1968) is an American screenwriter, film producer and director. Conrad is the brother of actor Chris Conrad. He lives in Chicago. Shortly after attending Northwestern, at age 19, he sold his first screenplay, Wrestling Ernest Hemingway, adapted from a short story he had written for a creative writing class. Eleven years passed before he tackled his next project, Lawrence Melm, which he wrote and directed. He followed this with The Weather Man (which he also produced) and The Pursuit of Happyness. He wrote, directed, and edited The Promotion, which premiered at South by Southwest in March 2008 and was released by Dimension Films later that year. In 2013, he adapted a James Thurber short story for the film The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, directed by and starring Ben Stiller. In 2015, Conrad developed Patriot for Amazon Studios. Its pilot led to a full series order, and it premiered in its entirety on February 24, 2017. In addition to executive-producing the series, he has also written and directed most of the first season's episodes. In 2019, Conrad's series Perpetual Grace, LTD, starring Ben Kingsley and featuring actors from Patriot, premiered on Epix. In 2021, Conrad's stop-motion animated series Ultra City Smiths premiered on AMC+. In 2026, Conrad's black comedy miniseries DTF St. Louis premiered on HBO, starring Jason Bateman, David Harbour, and Linda Cardellini.

Works

The Pursuit of Happyness

A struggling salesman takes custody of his son as he's poised to begin a life-changing professional career.

Release Date2006-12-14

DepartmentWriting

JobScreenplay

Vote Count10644

Wonder

The story of August Pullman – a boy with facial differences – who enters fifth grade, attending a mainstream elementary school for the first time.

Release Date2017-11-13

DepartmentWriting

JobScreenplay

Vote Count8284

DTF St. Louis

A love triangle among three adults experiencing middle-age malaise leads to one of them ending up dead.

Release Date2026-03-01

DepartmentWriting

JobWriter

Episode Count7

Vote Count97

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

A timid magazine photo manager who lives life vicariously through daydreams embarks on a true-life adventure when a negative goes missing.

Release Date2013-12-18

DepartmentWriting

JobScreenplay

Vote Count8303

Patriot

To prevent Iran from going nuclear, intelligence officer John Tavner must forgo all safety nets and assume a perilous "non-official cover" -- that of a mid-level employee at a Midwestern industrial piping firm.

Release Date2015-11-03

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Episode Count9

Vote Count187

Perpetual Grace LTD

James, a disgraced firefighter turned grifter, seizes a chance, illicit opportunity to reverse his life’s worsening course as he attempts to prey upon Pastor Byron Brown, who turns out to be far more dangerous than he appears.

Release Date2019-06-02

DepartmentProduction

JobExecutive Producer

Episode Count10

Vote Count44

Ultra City Smiths

Two detectives must contend with dangerous corruption as they investigate the mysterious disappearance of the last honest politician in their dark city. A group of unlikely suspects emerges - each with the last name of Smith.

Release Date2021-07-22

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Episode Count6

Vote Count20

The Weather Man

A Chicago weather man, separated from his wife and children, debates whether professional and personal success are mutually exclusive.

Release Date2005-10-20

DepartmentWriting

JobScreenplay

Vote Count1093

Unfinished Business

A hard-working small business owner and his two associates travel to Europe to close the most important deal of their lives. But what began as a routine business trip goes off the rails in every imaginable – and unimaginable – way, including unplanned stops at a massive sex fetish event and a global economic summit.

Release Date2015-03-05

DepartmentWriting

JobWriter

Vote Count873

The Promotion

Two assistant managers of a corporate grocery store vie for a coveted promotion.

Release Date2008-06-06

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Vote Count267

Timms Valley

A scripted comedy set in the fictional town of Timms Valley, Wisconsin, where the lives and livelihoods of its citizens are intertwined with the fate of the town's biggest employer, Timms Industrial Piping. When the company's founder and CEO goes missing in a plane crash, the lives of the characters are turned upside down. Shot in stop-motion animation with baby dolls repurposed as an array of adult characters, and modeled on 1980s primetime soaps like Dynasty.

Release Date2013-12-31

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Vote Count4

Wrestling Ernest Hemingway

Frank, a retired Irish seaman, and Walter, a retired Cuban barber, are two lonely old men trapped in the emptiness of their own lives. When they meet in a park Frank is able to start a conversation after several attempts. They begin to spend time together and become friends. But because of their different characters they often quarrel with each other and finally seperate after Frank misbehaves to Walter's friend Elaine.

Release Date1993-12-17

DepartmentWriting

JobWriter

Vote Count55

Untitled Adewumi Family Project

The story of a Nigerian family that escaped terrorism in their home country, sought and received asylum in America, and — against all odds — found a welcoming new home in New York. Living in a homeless center on religious asylum, their 8-year-old son, Tani, won the 2019 New York State chess championship, despite only being introduced to the game two years prior.

DepartmentWriting

JobScreenplay

Belushi

The story of comic singer John Belushi who rose to fame in 1970s died for a drug overdose in 1982 at the age of 33.

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector