Lanre Olabisi is an award-winning writer/director whose films have aired on HBO, Showtime, Netflix, and Hulu. Most recently, he has been directing television, including five episodes of ABC’s hit series The Rookie and two episodes of the spinoff The Rookie: Feds.

Lanre's journey as a filmmaker has been marked by significant milestones. His short film, A Storybook Ending, streamed on HBO for three years and landed him into the HBOAccess Directing Program. There, he had the opportunity to shadow on HBO’s Succession and Max’s Love Life. Lanre was then selected into the Disney Entertainment Television (DET) Directing Program.

His feature film work includes August the First and Somewhere in the Middle, both are distributed by Film Movement worldwide.

August the First played at over 35 film festivals, including South by Southwest (SXSW) and Karlovy Vary. It won the top prize at seven festivals and was nominated for an IFP Gotham Award. It also played on Showtime and Netflix. It can be seen on various streaming channels, including Tubi.

Lanre's second feature, Somewhere in the Middle, was nominated for Best Outstanding Feature at the Black Reel Awards and also streamed on Netflix. It is currently available on to stream on PlutoTV. 

A former collegiate wrestler at the University of Michigan, Lanre has practiced Brazilian jiu-jitsu for over a decade, an influence reflected in his hand-to-hand combat scenes. Before his television career, he taught Screenwriting, Directing, and Acting for Film at the New York Film Academy for 15 years.