Alyssa McClelland

Alyssa McClelland is a director, screenwriter, producer and former actress, known for directing the series Amandaland, the finale episodes of Sex Education and the award-winning short Second Best. McClelland was educated at Newtown High School of the Performing Arts in Sydney and was Dux in her final year. She attended the University of Technology Sydney where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication in Media Arts and Production, majoring in film. including opening night at the Palm Springs Film Festival. The following year, she directed, wrote and produced the short film Nic and Shauna, starring Ryan Johnson and Pia Miranda, which was selected to be a finalist at Tropfest. From 2011, McClelland directed the two seasons of Funny or Die's cult web series One Step Closer to Home, which she also wrote, produced and starred in together with Ryan Johnson. Best Short Film at the Milano Film Festival, Foreign Film at LakeShorts International Short Film Festival in Toronto, Best Direction at Flickerfest, Best Direction in a Short Film at the Australian Directors' Guild Awards and the Youth Award at 20MinMax Film Festival in Germany.

In 2021, McClelland directed several episodes of season 34 of long-running soap opera Home and Away, in which she had previously guested as an actor. That same year, she was the set-up director of British teen comedy-drama Everything Now (originally titled The Fuck It Bucket), also with Netflix, starring Stephen Fry and Sophie Wilde. In 2025, she directed the successful BBC comedy series Amandaland, a spin-off of the sitcom Motherland.

Together with Mia Wasikowska, McClelland directed the upcoming miniseries The Great White, starring Hugo Weaving. She was also set-up director and executive producer on the upcoming Netflix drama miniseries My Brilliant Career, an adaptation of Miles Franklin's 1901 classic Australian novel of the same name. The critically-acclaimed 1979 film adaptation of the novel launched the careers of Judy Davis and Sam Neill.

McClelland is also a respected international commercial director, having directed campaigns for Google Pixel, Apple, Air New Zealand, Samsung, Netflix and Vodafone, AEG, McDonald’s and Pot Noodle. Her advertising work has won awards such as the Black Pencil at the D&AD Awards and Best Direction at the London International Awards.

Actor Prior to her career behind the camera, McClelland had roles in Australian film, television and theatre. She appeared in the feature films A Man's Gotta Do (2004), Deck Dogz (2005) and The Bet (2006)

McClelland has performed leading roles in productions with the Sydney Theatre Company, Melbourne Theatre Company, and Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney.

Director / producer / writer credits

Film Year Title Role Type Ref. 2009 Emilia Eckle Director / writer Short film Alyssa McClelland InStyle Magazine Woman of Style Scholarship Second Best 20MinMax Film Festival Youth Jury Award Second Best Flickerfest Best Direction Second Best Lakeshorts International Film Festival Best Foreign Film Second Best Maryland International Film Festival Best Short Film Second Best Milano Film Festival (MIFF Awards) Best International Short Film (15–30 minutes) Second Best Sydney Film Festival Dendy Live Action Short 2019 Second Best Australian Directors' Guild Awards Best Direction in a Short Film