Why do TV Shows have different directors for different episodes?

Quite often on long runnung shows, they offer some of the performers episodes to direct. Also good directors will be offered other projects and the producers want them to come back to the TV show so they bring in other directors

I think it is primarily due to time constraints. On a movie project, a single director (usually) can work on the project from beginning to end, because they are only responsible for a single product (the film) by the end of shooting. Conversely, on a TV program, they may have several episodes in production all at one time; some in pre-production, some in filming, and some in post-production. This is likely more than one person can handle, so it takes a group of directors to accomplish the task. Television is a more variable world too; newtworks may shift schedules around, ask for more episodes, or even make last minute changes to shows in production. Having a group of directors likely aids them in coping with this variability.

Often it is contracturally negotiated between performers, writers, or other help, with the show producers. Most performers and writers want to do something else, and it is good to have “directed” on the resume.

Directors can get stagnant and new directors bring fresh ideas that often provide for different feel to even a familiar show.

Let’s ask Andrew. He’s the expert here.

I’ve always wondered this myself. There seems to be a group of directors for some shows that direct an episode every so often. This goes for writers too. Check out this list of episodes for Two and a Half Men to see an example.