Today on Whats My Frame, I’m joined by Director, Writer, and Producer Stephanie Laing. Stephanie opens up about her creative process and how her dual perspective as both a producer and director strengthens her craft and career. She takes us behind the scenes of Palm Royale, sharing stories from set and what it was like collaborating with comedy legends Kristen Wiig and Carol Burnett. Stephanie also walks us through the journey of bringing her upcoming feature, TOW to the screen.

Full Bio:

Sundance Alumni Stephanie Laing is an Emmy-winning director, writer, and producer. Laing recently wrapped production on feature film, Tow, under her newly launched Cake or Death Pictures. Tow, which Laing also directs, is the inspirational true story of Amanda Ogle, an unhoused Seattle woman who fought her way out of tow-company hell to reclaim her life and the car that held it all together after receiving a tow bill for $21,634. Tow had its world premiere at the 2025 Tribeca Festival in the Spotlight Narrative film category, and was recently picked up by Roadside Attractions and Vertical for a 2026 theatrical release. Tow stars Rose Byrne as Ogle and currently holds a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Dominic Sessa, Octavia Spencer, Ariana DeBose, and Demi Lovato also star in the film.

On the television side, Laing most recently directed 5 episodes on season two of Apple TV’s Emmy-nominated series Palm Royale starring Kristen Wiig, Carol Burnett, Allison Janney, Laura Dern, and Ricky Martin, where she also serves as an Executive Producer. This follows her work on season one of the show, where she also directed multiple episodes. Additionally, Laing directed 3 episodes in season one of Apple TV’s hit Jon Hamm series Your Friends and Neighbors, and she has directed 6 episodes for the upcoming season two, which she’s also an Executive Producer on. Laing also directed 24 of 30 episodes and served as an Executive Producer on the Emmy-nominated series Physical starring Rose Byrne on Apple TV+. Prior to this, she was the series director of Jez Butterworth’s Mammals starring Sally Hawkins and James Corden for Amazon Prime. A Sundance alumni, Laing’s pilot Bootstrapped starring Sam Richardson was an official selection of Sundance in 2019. Laing’s additional TV credits include HBO Max’s Made For Love starring Billy Magnussen and Cristin Millioti, Love Life starring Anna Kendrick, and HBO’s hit comedy series Veep which ran for seven seasons and won over 15 Primetime Emmy Awards. Up next in TV, Laing is directing the adaptation of Claire Vaye Watkins’ I Love You but I’ve Chosen Darkness.

Laing’s feature film Family Squares, starring Henry Winkler, Judy Greer, June Squibb, Casey Wilson, Margo Martindale, and more, was released theatrically in February of 2022. Laing wrote, directed, and produced the film - her feature writing debut. Laing also directed the Netflix film Irreplaceable You starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Kate McKinnon, and Christopher Walken.