M. H. Murray

Murray was raised in the Port Credit area of Mississauga,[3] by a French Canadian mother and a Scottish Canadian father.[4] In high school, he started a YouTube channel and began creating "little slasher films" with his family and friends.[4][5] He graduated from York University's film school.[6]

While in film school, Murray began working on his first web series, titled Teenagers.[6][7] Filmed in late 2013 and released in early 2014, Teenagers attracted media attention because its cast included former Degrassi stars Chloe Rose and Raymond Ablack.[8][9] Playback wrote that "the young creators of Teenagers had to have plenty of luck, pluck, talent, and grit to get this far. And that portends a Hollywood ending".[8] Murray co-created the series with close friend Sara Tamosauskas and produced the first season alongside Emmanuel Kabongo, who also starred in all three seasons of the series.[10]

Murray at a screening of Teenagers in 2017

The first episode of the second season of Teenagers premiered online in July 2015 and soon went viral, amassing more than 3 million views on YouTube.[11][12] The second season was nominated for various awards, including a Canadian Screen Award and four Indie Series Awards.[13][14] A third and final season was released in 2017 and received six nominations from the International Academy of Web Television and three nominations at the 9th annual Indie Series Awards.[15][16] T. J. Scott served as an executive producer for the second and third seasons.[3] Since its release, Teenagers has received positive reviews from critics.[17][18] Now called the series "sexy" and "provocative", concluding that "because it’s not held hostage by the same rules as big network television shows, it pushes the boundaries".[11]

Following the conclusion of Teenagers, Murray wrote and directed a short film titled Ghost.[4] The film stars Mark Clennon as Benjamin, a gay musician who is "ghosted" by his lover.[19][20] After premiering virtually at the Inside Out Film Festival,[21] the film screened at festivals in Paris and Connecticut.[20][22] Ghost had its U.S. premiere at the 47th annual Seattle International Film Festival in April 2021,[23] and was released online in June 2021.[22][24]

In 2022, Murray co-directed the music video for Clennon's song "Kingston", which was filmed in Kingston, Jamaica, becoming the first music video shot in Jamaica to feature an on-screen romance between two men.[25]

Murray's feature film debut, I Don't Know Who You Are, premiered in the Discovery program at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival.[26]

Murray's work on Teenagers has drawn comparisons to the Degrassi franchise.[27] In a December 2016 interview with CBC's q radio show, Murray refuted Degrassi comparisons, saying that while he "respects" the show, he believes that Teenagers is "a fresh take on that experience".[1] Murray has stated that he was influenced by Issa Rae's The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, John Hughes's The Breakfast Club, and Larry Clark's Kids.[28]

Murray has cited American actor and filmmaker John Cassavetes as an influence, and "people who use their own resources and money to get their projects going when studios or other people ignore them."[5]

Murray is LGBT.[19][23]

For his work on Teenagers, Murray won several accolades. At the Vancouver Web Series Festival, he won awards for Best Screenplay in 2016 and Best Canadian Series in 2018.[2][29] In 2017, he was nominated for Best Director at the 5th annual International Academy of Web Television Awards.[15]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to M. H. Murray.

• M. H. Murray at IMDb