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| | role= Director | | | role= Director |
| | series= Caprica | | | series= [[Caprica]] |
| | born_year= 1968 | | | born_year= 1968 |
| | nationality= IE | | | nationality= Irish |
| | sortkey= Madha, Omar | | | sortkey= Madha, Omar |
| | imdb=534850
| | }} |
| |site=https://www.omarmadha.com/}}
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| '''Omar Madha''' is an Irish-born<ref name="bio">[http://www.omarmadha.com/ Madha, Omar. "Omar Madha - Director."] Official Website. Accessed July 19, 2024. "Born in Dublin, Ireland... Of Anglo-Indian-Burmese origin... I have American, Irish and British passports."</ref> film and television director with an extensive career in both British and American television. He is known for his work across a wide range of genres, from high-octane action series like ''[[w:Spooks|Spooks]]'', ''[[w:24: Live Another Day|24: Live Another Day]]'', and ''[[w:Reacher|Reacher]]'' to critically-acclaimed character dramas like ''[[w:Big Love|Big Love]]'' and ''[[w:Doom Patrol|Doom Patrol]]''.<ref name="filmography">{{Imdb name|id=534850|name=Omar Madha}}</ref> Within the [[Re-imagined Series]] universe, he directed {{CAP|Blowback|prose=Y}}. | | '''Omar Madha''' is an Irish-born<ref name="bio">Madha, Omar. "Omar Madha - Director." Official Website. Accessed July 19, 2024. "Born in Dublin, Ireland... Of Anglo-Indian-Burmese origin... I have American, Irish and British passports."</ref> film and television director with an extensive career in both British and American television. He is known for his work across a wide range of genres, from high-octane action series like ''[[Spooks]]'', ''[[24: Live Another Day]]'', and ''[[Reacher]]'' to critically-acclaimed character dramas like ''[[Big Love]]'' and ''[[Doom Patrol]]''.<ref name="filmography">"Omar Madha - Filmography." IMDb. Accessed July 19, 2024.</ref> Within the [[Re-imagined Series]] universe, he directed one episode of the prequel series ''[[Caprica]]''. |
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| ==Pre-''Caprica''== | | ==Career Before Caprica== |
| Madha's path to directing was a hands-on apprenticeship; he began directing theatre at 17 and later worked as a script executive and a 1st Assistant Director before writing and directing his first short film at age 26.<ref name="bio"/> He began his professional television career in the UK, honing his skills on the long-running soap opera ''[[w:Hollyoaks|Hollyoaks]]'' before moving on to direct for the BAFTA-winning BBC drama ''[[w:Clocking_Off|Clocking Off]]''.<ref name="filmography"/> It was his work on the stylish spy thriller ''[[w:Spooks|Spooks]]'' (known as ''MI-5'' in North America) where he developed his signature style for "pace and visual impact."<ref name="bio"/> His growing reputation led to him being entrusted to direct the pilot episode for ''[[w:Law & Order: UK|Law & Order: UK]]'', the high-profile British adaptation of the popular American franchise.<ref name="filmography"/> | | Madha began his career in British television, honing his skills on the long-running soap opera ''[[Hollyoaks]]'' before moving on to direct for the BAFTA-winning BBC drama ''Clocking Off''.<ref name="filmography"/> It was his work on the stylish spy thriller ''[[Spooks]]'' (known as ''MI-5'' in North America) where he developed his signature style for "pace and visual impact."<ref name="bio"/> His growing reputation led to him being entrusted to direct the pilot episode for ''[[Law & Order: UK]]'', the high-profile British adaptation of the popular American franchise.<ref name="filmography"/> |
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| ==Move to American Television== | | ==Work on Caprica== |
| Madha's transition to the American television industry was part of a larger trend of British minority ethnic talent seeking opportunities abroad. An investigative report by ''The Independent'' cited Madha as a key example of directors who were "increasingly having to follow black actors to America in order to build their careers" due to being "frozen out" by the UK industry at the time.<ref name="independent">{{Cite news|title=British TV directors from ethnic minorities 'forced to follow black actors to US to further careers'|url=https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/news/british-tv-directors-from-ethnic-minorities-moving-to-us-to-further-careers-a6787066.html|author=Ian Burrell|publisher=The Independent|accessdate=19 July 2025|date=26 December 2015}}</ref> His early work in the US included episodes of ''[[w:Law & Order: Criminal Intent|Law & Order: Criminal Intent]]'' and HBO's ''[[w:Big Love|Big Love]]'', which paved the way for his later high-profile projects.<ref name="filmography"/> | | Madha's sole directorial credit in the ''Battlestar Galactica'' franchise is for the fifteenth episode of ''Caprica'', "[[Blowback]]".<ref name="sfcrowsnest">Jones, Patrick. "Caprica: The Complete Series (DVD review)." SF-Crowsnest. Accessed July 19, 2024. "It’s a science fiction family saga... a complex blend of cyberpunk, philosophical fiction and character drama."</ref> |
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| ==''Caprica''==
| | "Blowback" was a pivotal late-season episode that juggled several crucial and tonally diverse storylines, including the kidnapping of [[Lacy Rand]] by [[Soldiers of the One|STO]] terrorists, [[GDD]] Agent [[Duram]]'s hunt for a mole within his organization, and the escalating conflict between [[Daniel Graystone]] and the [[Ha'la'tha]] over stolen [[Cylon]] Centurions.<ref name="blowback_summary">"Caprica: Blowback - Plot Summary." IMDb. Accessed July 19, 2024.</ref> |
| Madha's sole directorial credit in the ''Battlestar Galactica'' franchise is for the fourteenth episode of ''Caprica'', "[[Blowback]]".
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| "Blowback" was a pivotal late-season episode that juggled several crucial and tonally diverse storylines, including the kidnapping of [[Lacy Rand]] by [[Soldiers of the One|STO]] terrorists, [[GDD]] Agent [[Jordan Duram|Duram]]'s hunt for [[Alvo|a mole]] within his organization, and the escalating conflict between [[Daniel Graystone]] and the [[Ha'la'tha]] over black market sales of [[U-87 Cyber Combat Unit|U-87 Cyber Combat Units]].
| | Madha's direction of the episode was praised by critics for skillfully navigating these complex threads. His handling of the Lacy Rand hostage plot was noted as being particularly tense and exciting, showcasing the "pace and visual impact" that characterized his earlier work.<ref name="nfb">"Review: Caprica - 'Blowback'." Never Felt Better (blog). February 2011. Accessed July 19, 2024.</ref> Simultaneously, his direction was lauded for its work with the more nuanced subplots. The Agent Duram storyline was described as an "excellently constructed isolated narrative," and Madha was credited with elevating the character of [[Amanda Graystone]], making the peril she faced feel genuinely threatening and transforming her into one of the show's "most watchable" characters at a key point in the series.<ref name="nfb" /> |
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| During the [[Podcast:Blowback|podcast commentary for the episode]], executive [[Tom Lieber]] and actress [[Magda Apanowicz]] ([[Lacy Rand]]) praised Madha's work. Apanowicz highlighted his ability to create a "safe" environment for actors during emotionally intense scenes, which she found essential for her performance.<ref>[[Podcast:Blowback|Podcast for "Blowback"]], timestamp 05:05</ref> Lieber noted that "Blowback" may have been Madha's first directorial work for American television and pointed out his use of "old school ''[[Star Trek]]'' techniques" for the [[jump ship]] hijacking sequence, which involved having the cast physically shake in unison to simulate turbulence.<ref>[[Podcast:Blowback|Podcast for "Blowback"]], timestamp 04:32</ref> The episode serves as a clear example of Madha's integrated directorial style, successfully blending high-tension action sequences with the sophisticated, performance-driven character drama that was the hallmark of ''Caprica''.<ref name="bio" />
| | The episode serves as a clear example of Madha's integrated directorial style, successfully blending high-tension action sequences with the sophisticated, performance-driven character drama that was the hallmark of ''Caprica''.<ref name="bio" /> |
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| ==Post-''Caprica''== | | ==Career After Caprica== |
| Following ''Caprica'', Madha became a highly sought-after director in American television. His work on ''[[w:24:_Live_Another_Day|24: Live Another Day]]'' involved directing complex action sequences, including a drone attack scene that combined footage from a custom camera drone with visual effects of a scale model explosion to simulate a missile strike.<ref name="24featurette">{{Cite web|url=https://www.24spoilers.com/2014/06/08/behind-scenes-24-live-another-day-episode-5/|title=Behind the Scenes of 24: Live Another Day Episode 5|date=8 June 2014|accessdate=19 July 2025}}</ref> | | Following ''Caprica'', Madha became a highly sought-after director in American television, particularly within the action and science-fiction genres. He directed multiple episodes of the high-profile limited series ''[[24: Live Another Day]]'', the dystopian drama ''[[The 100]]'', and the historical thriller ''[[TURN: Washington's Spies]]''. His extensive genre work also includes episodes of ''[[Star Trek: Discovery]]'', ''[[Grimm]]'', and the surrealist superhero show ''[[Doom Patrol]]''. More recently, he has directed for the global action hit ''[[Reacher]]'', cementing his reputation as a reliable director for large-scale productions.<ref name="filmography"/> |
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| His extensive genre work includes multiple episodes of the dystopian drama ''[[w:The_100|The 100]]'', the historical thriller ''[[w:TURN:_Washington's_Spies|TURN: Washington's Spies]]'', ''[[Memoryalpha:Star Trek: Discovery|Star Trek: Discovery]]'', ''[[w:Grimm|Grimm]]'' (featuring [[Sasha Roiz]]), SyFy's ''[[w:Defiance (TV series)|Defiance]]'', and the surrealist superhero show ''[[w:Doom_Patrol|Doom Patrol]]''. He also directed and served as a producer on [[Katee Sackhoff]]'s Netflix series ''[[w:Another Life (2019 TV series)|Another Life]]''.<ref name="filmography"/> More recently, he has directed for the global action hit ''[[w:Reacher|Reacher]]'', cementing his reputation as a reliable director for large-scale productions.<ref name="filmography"/>
| | ==Notes and references== |
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| == External Links ==
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| {{Ext-wikipedia}}
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| ==References==
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| {{Reflist}} | | {{Reflist}} |
| [[Category:A to Z]]
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| [[Category:Caprica]]
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| [[Category:Directors (Caprica)]]
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| [[Category:Crew (Caprica)]]
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