Mia Lidofsky

Early career

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)

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

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]