Teaching Mrs. Tingle is a 1999 American teen black comedy thriller film written and directed by Kevin Williamson in his directorial debut, and starring Helen Mirren, Katie Holmes, Barry Watson, Marisa Coughlan, and Jeffrey Tambor. It follows a trio of high school seniors who must prove their innocence to their vindictive history teacher, who accuses them of cheating on their final exams. Williamson wrote the script before his work on Scream and Dawson's Creek. Following the success of those projects, his script was picked up and production of the film proceeded.