James Burrows, 'Cheers' co-creator, dies at 85

Also called the "Steven Spielberg of sitcoms" James Burrows, the creator of “Cheers” who directed more than 1,000 episodes of that show and other classics like “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” ”Will & Grace," “Friends,” and “The Big Bang Theory,” has died. He was 85. www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/...

Some people worked in an era of television. He *was* an era of television. (gift article) www.nytimes.com/2026/06/19/a...

James Burrows was a giant of comedy directing, his dad was a giant of comedy writing. The amount of great entertainment coming out of that family is absolutely staggering. Rest In Peace.

🧵The great James Burrows died today. I owe my TV career to him and to the Charles brothers. They read my first book and invited me to write a pilot. The result, Gloria Vane, was about a 1930s movie star. Jimmy directed. What does a great comedy director add that’s not on the page? One example: 1/

I wrote about the genius of the late James Burrows, the greatest sitcom director of them all:

Burrows spent his career behind the camera specializing in situation comedies. Few viewers recognized him or knew his name, other than to see it flash quickly on the screen in the opening credits. But they knew his work. n.pr/3SR5mla

James Burrows, the director behind iconic TV comedies like "Cheers," "Taxi," "Friends" and "Will and Grace," has died.

Farewell to director James Burrows (1940-2026) — who didn’t invent the multi-camera sitcom, but perfected it. He started on MARY TYLER MOORE, went on to BOB NEWHART, LAVERNE & SHIRLEY, and TAXI, then CHEERS, FRASIER, WILL & GRACE + MIKE & MOLLY. 50 years, 1000+ episodes, 11 Emmys. A master. #TVSky

James Burrows, a major force in television comedy who co-created “Cheers” and directed every episode of the first run of “Will and Grace,” has died, his attorney tells NBC News.

This is a great short thread about the legendary James Burrows, who died today.

James Burrows, who co-created "Cheers" and directed more than a thousand episodes of classic television comedies such as “Taxi,” “Friends,” and “Will and Grace,” has died.

I once asked the absurdly humble James Burrows what he did well… what his special contribution to a sitcom was. He paused a long time, then told me he guessed he was ok at coming up with little stuff for actors to do when they weren’t talking. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/19/a...

RIP James Burrows. I think he directed the pilot of practically every beloved successful sitcom most Americans watched over a few decades.

A TV great. In my days as a TV critic, I reviewed and loved so many of his shows, led with Cheers. James Burrows, Master of the TV Sitcom, Dies at 85 www.nytimes.com/2026/06/19/a...

James Burrows’ legacy as a director included more great sitcom episodes than probably anyone else in the history of television, and also one of the worst LGBTQ+–themed feature films ever made. RIP. #filmsky 📽