John Hyams

American screenwriter and film director

John Hyams

Occupations|

* Film director
* screenwriter
* cinematographer

Years active| 1986–present

John Hyams is an American screenwriter, director and cinematographer, best known for his involvement in the Universal Soldier series, for which he has directed two installments. Hyams is the son of director Peter Hyams.

## Career

[edit]

Hyams graduated from Syracuse University School of Visual and Performing Arts, becoming a noted painter and sculptor exhibiting and selling work in New York and Los Angeles.[1] He became known in Hollywood in 1997 after writing, producing, and directing the critically acclaimed One Dog Day. The film debuted at the Taos Talking Picture Film Festival. After that, Hyams directed several documentaries, most notably The Smashing Machine, which follows the life of fighter Mark Kerr. Hyams also directed several episodes of ABC Television's NYPD Blue.

In 2009, Hyams took over the Universal Soldier franchise, directing the film Regeneration, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren. It was shot mostly in Bulgaria on a budget of $9 million.[2] Then, in 2012, he wrote and produced a sequel called Day of Reckoning,[3] which also featured Van Damme and Lundgren. It was shot in 3D with a budget of $8 million.

Over the course of 2014 and 2015, Hyams directed several episodes of the horror series Z Nation, including the pilot. Hyams has also directed for numerous other TV series, including Chicago P.D., Chicago Fire, and Chucky, and acted as showrunner for the Z Nation spin-off Black Summer. In 2018 he returned to feature work with the independent comedy-drama All Square, starring Michael Kelly. In 2020 he directed the thriller Alone, and in 2022 the Kevin Williamson-scripted, Blumhouse-produced horror film Sick.

## Filmography

[edit]

### Films

[edit]

Title  | Year  | Credited as  | Notes

|
|
|

Director  | Producer  | Writer
One Dog Day | 1997  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  |
The Smashing Machine: The Life and Times of Extreme Fighter Mark Kerr | 2002  | Yes  | Co-  | No  | Documentary film, also editor
Fight Day | 2003  | Yes  | No  | No  | Featurette, also editor
Rank | 2006  | Yes  | Yes  | No  | Documentary film, also editor
Cowtown: Bull Riding Sessions | 2006  | Yes  | Yes  | No  | Featurette
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt | 2009  | No  | Associate  | No  |
Universal Soldier: Regeneration | 2009  | Yes  | No  | No  | Also editor
The Razzle Dazzle | 2009  | Yes  | Co-  | No  | Short film
The Ignorant Bliss of Sun and Moon | 2010  | Yes  | No  | No  | Short film, also editor, cinematographer and sound editor
Dragon Eyes | 2012  | Yes  | No  | No  |
Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning | 2012  | Yes  | No  | Yes  | Also editor
Days of Reckoning: The Making of Universal Soldier 4 | 2013  | No  | Yes  | No  | Featurette
Skin Trade | 2014  | No  | No  | No  | Uncredited script revisions
All Square | 2018  | Yes  | No  | No  |
Alone | 2020  | Yes  | No  | No  | Also editor
Sick | 2022  | Yes  | No  | No  |

### Television

[edit]

The numbers in directing and writing credits refer to the number of episodes.

Title  | Year  | Credited as  | Network  | Notes

|
|
|
|

Creator  | Director  | Producer  | Writer  | Executive
producer
NYPD Blue | 2003–2005  | No  | Yes (4)  | Yes  | No  | No  | ABC | Producer (season 12)
Blind Justice | 2005  | No  | Yes (1)  | No  | No  | No  |
Z Nation | 2014–2017  | No  | Yes (9)  | Co-  | Yes (5)  | Co-  | Syfy | Co-producer (season 1; 8 episodes)
Co-executive producer (season 2; 13 episodes)
The Originals | 2016–2017  | No  | Yes (3)  | No  | No  | No  | The CW |
12 Deadly Days | 2016  | No  | Yes (1)  | No  | No  | No  | YouTube Red | Anthology series
Chicago P.D. | 2017–2019  | No  | Yes (4)  | No  | No  | No  | NBC |
Chicago Fire | 2017  | No  | Yes (1)  | No  | No  | No  |
Legacies | 2019  | No  | Yes (1)  | No  | No  | No  | The CW  |
Black Summer | 2019–2021  | Yes  | Yes (9)  | No  | Yes (5)  | Yes  | Netflix | Also showrunner
Roswell, New Mexico | 2022  | No  | Yes (1)  | No  | No  | No  | The CW  |
Chucky | 2022–2023  | No  | Yes (3)  | No  | No  | No  | Syfy
USA Network |
Teacup | 2024  | No  | Yes (2)  | No  | No  | No  | Peacock  |
The Rookie | 2025  | No  | Yes (1)  | No  | No  | No  | ABC  |
The Recruit | 2025  | No  | Yes (1)  | No  | No  | No  | Netflix  |

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "John Hyams". imdb. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
2. ^ Daniels, Hunter (December 7, 2012). "Director John Hyams Talks UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: DAY OF RECKONING, Plus the Top 11 Things to Know About Hyams and His Film". collider.com. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
3. ^ Antosca, Nick. "Masterpiece Theatre: Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning". Paris Review. Retrieved March 24, 2013.

## External links

[edit]

* John Hyams at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by John Hyams

* The Smashing Machine: The Life and Times of Extreme Fighter Mark Kerr (2002)
* Universal Soldier: Regeneration (2009)
* Dragon Eyes (2012)
* Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (2012)
* All Square (2018)
* Alone (2020)
* Sick (2022)

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* United States
* France
* BnF data
* Spain
* Korea
* Poland

Other|

* IdRef

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