// Workers AI · dad joke modeWho's Mia Lidofsky? Lidofsky high on my list.
Mia Lidofsky | |
|---|---|
| Born | United States |
| Education | Bates College |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2013–present |
| Notable work | Strangers |
| Spouse | Celia Rowlson-Hall |
| Website | mialidofsky |
Mia Lidofsky is an American director, writer, and producer best known as the creator, writer, director, and executive producer of the Facebook Watch comedy-drama series Strangers. She has also worked as a commercial and music-video director and has credits on television series including Girls and Nurse Jackie.[1][2]
Early life and education
[edit]Lidofsky attended Bates College, where she played goalkeeper for the Bates Bobcats women's soccer team, wearing jersey No. 1, and suffered a season-ending injury in the team's 2005 season opener against Saint Joseph's College.[3] She graduated with the class of 2009.[4]
Career
[edit]Early career
[edit]Lidofsky began her career working for director Jesse Peretz, an experience she has described as "my film school."[5] She went on to work as a producer and development executive for Beachside Films, during which time she also directed music videos.[2] In 2015, she served as associate producer on the documentary Tig and the narrative feature People Places Things, both of which premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival.[2] She also held additional crew credits on the HBO series Girls and the Showtime series Nurse Jackie.[1] It was on the set of Girls that Lidofsky first met choreographer Celia Rowlson-Hall, whom she would later marry.[6]
That same year, Lidofsky was selected for the AFI Directing Workshop for Women, through which she wrote and directed the pilot episode of what would become Strangers.[2][7]
Strangers (2017–2018)
[edit]Lidofsky created, wrote, and directed Strangers, a comedy-drama produced in partnership with Refinery29 and Beachside Films. The series follows Isobel Song, a bisexual, biracial writer played by Zoë Chao, whose life is upended after her boyfriend discovers she has cheated with a woman and moves out. Unable to cover the rent alone, Isobel begins renting out the spare room of her Los Angeles home through Airbnb.[8][1] In the second season, Isobel relocates to New York City with her best friend Cam, switching from Airbnb host to renter as she navigates the city.[8]
Lidofsky has said the series was inspired by her own experience renting out her New York apartment on Airbnb for several years while working in Los Angeles.[9] The character of Cam, Isobel's best friend, was loosely based on Lidofsky's real-life friendship with Chao, whom she has known since they met on their first day of nursery school in 1989.[8]
Strangers premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and was the U.S. Centerpiece Film at Outfest 2017 before being acquired by Facebook Watch for its first season.[2] Facebook Watch subsequently greenlit a second season, for which Lidofsky stepped into the role of showrunner, co-ran the writers' room, and directed four episodes.[2][10] The series received critical praise, with Vice calling it "the best queer comedy on TV right now" and Vulture describing it as "a big hearted drama."[2][8]
Political and commercial work
[edit]Lidofsky co-directed the viral video #PantsuitPower, made in support of Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, with Rowlson-Hall; the video garnered more than five million views within two weeks.[2][11] In 2018, the pair followed up with a #BeMyVoice video ahead of the midterm elections, which was shared by media outlets including Good Morning America, CNN, and NowThis.[2]
Lidofsky has directed commercials for brands including Spotify, as well as music videos for artists such as Emmy the Great, MOTHXR, and Genevieve.[2] In 2024, she signed with production company m ss ng p eces for representation on special commercial projects.[12] As of the mid-2020s, she has been developing a new television series as well as her feature-film directorial debut, and is represented by UTA.[2]
Personal life
[edit]Lidofsky is openly gay.[8] She married filmmaker and choreographer Celia Rowlson-Hall on September 8, 2018, in a beach ceremony on Long Island's North Fork, which was featured in Vogue.[6] The couple, who met on the set of Girls, have a son, Romeo, born around 2023.[13]
Recognition
[edit]In 2018, Lidofsky was named to Out magazine's Out100 list, which recognizes influential LGBTQ people of the year.[14][2]
Filmography
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–2014 | Girls | Additional crew | Television series, 8 episodes |
| 2015 | Tig | Associate producer | Documentary film |
| 2015 | People Places Things | Associate producer | Feature film |
| 2016 | People Places Things: In the Details | Director | Short/promotional video |
| 2017–2018 | Strangers | Creator, writer, director, executive producer | Facebook Watch series, 2 seasons |
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 "'Strangers' Creator Mia Lidofsky Breaks The Mold With Queer Female Narrative". HuffPost. 2018-08-29. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Mia Lidofsky". IMDb. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
- ↑ "Mia Lidofsky - 2006 - Women's Soccer - Bates College". Bates Bobcats Athletics. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
- ↑ "Bates in the News: Sept. 14, 2018". Bates College. 2018-09-14. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
- ↑ "'Strangers' Is Facebook's Lesbian 'Room 104,' and It's Streaming for Free — Watch". IndieWire. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
- 1 2 "A Beach Wedding in the Rain: Celia Rowlson-Hall and Mia Lidofsky's Magical North Fork Ceremony". Vogue. 2019-01-16. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
- ↑ "Strangers On This Road We Are On: Mia Lidofsky On Her Facebook Watch Series". Filmmaker Magazine. 2017-10-02. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "The Bighearted Drama of Facebook's Strangers". Vulture. 2018-08-09. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
- ↑ Lidofsky, Mia (2017-09-18). "I Airbnb-ed My Apartment For 4 Years — & Learned These 5 Things". Refinery29. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
- ↑ "'Strangers' Creator Mia Lidofsky On The Great Facebook Watch Show". Uproxx. 2018-08-27. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
- ↑ "New York flashmob ready to 'dance Hillary Clinton into the White House'". The Guardian. 2016-10-05. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
- ↑ "Directors Jason Jeffrey, Mia Lidofsky Join m ss ng p eces". SHOOT. 2024-05-14. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
- ↑ "A Starry New Piece of Dance-Theater Explores the Sisyphean Drama of Grieving (and Mothering)". Vogue. 2025-04-25. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
- ↑ "Out100 Vault". Out. Retrieved 2026-09-28.