Mark Piznarski, the TV director who set the tone for several beloved teen dramas, passed away earlier this year.
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Piznarski, who kicked off his TV directing career with the prolific (yet criminally short-lived) teen angst saga My So-Called Life (which put stars like Claire Danes and Jared Leto on the map back in the 90s), was listed in the "In Memoriam" section of film industry paper DGA Monthly's most recent issue, The Hollywood Reporter shared on Sept. 25. The outlet added that the TV director died on April 4.
DGA Monthly did not reveal the 71-year-old's cause of death.
As THR pointed out, Piznarski's specialty was teen dramas. He directed the first episodes of fan-favorite teen shows like Veronica Mars, Everwood, and Gossip Girl. His stamp was most felt on Gossip Girl, which he ended up helming over a dozen episodes across all six seasons of the show, including the series finale in 2012.
He also directed pilot episodes for shows like Relativity, Still Life, In Plain Sight, The Lying Game, and 90210 (the sequel series to Beverly Hills 90210). On the big screen, he directed the 2000 film Here on Earth (which starred Josh Hartnett) and 2006's Looking for Sunday, which Piznarski also co-wrote.
Mark Piznarski's Impressive Directing Career Beyond Teen Dramas
Outside of teen TV and movie fare, Piznarski still had an impressive career.
Born in 1954, he cut his teeth as an assistant director on 1986's About Last Night after spending time at Columbia College in Chicago. Piznarski helmed six episodes of the gritty police procedural NYPD Blue from 1995 to 2003. He also directed five episodes of American Dreams from 2003 to 2005.
His directing credits also extended to hit shows like Friday Night Lights, Pure Genius, Once and Again, Crisis, Madam Secretary, and iZombie. Piznarski also made a mark in TV movies and miniseries, shepherding 2010's Sundays at Tiffany's and the 1999 miniseries The 60s.
His final directing credit was for the CW teen drama Riverdale in 2018.
