[1] He is known for directing the film Dancing in September (2000) and creating the television series Shots Fired and Swagger.
During his senior year, Bythewood was cast in the soap opera Another World, he left Performing Arts and attended Quintanos School for the Young Professionals.
He co-founded a New York City based theater company called The Tribe which performed plays written and directed by Bythewood.
Several activists attended Bythewood's plays including Black Panther Jamal Joseph who became one of his best friends.
From there, he was hired as a writer on the hit NBC comedy series A Different World where he met his future wife, Gina Prince-Bythewood.
After attending the Million Man March, he wrote the screenplay for Spike Lee's indie film Get on the Bus.
In 2017, he co-created the ten-hour event series Shots Fired with Gina Prince-Bythewood and directed the season one finale starring Sanaa Lathan, Richard Dreyfuss, Helen Hunt, and Stephan James.
Along with other fathers, he fed homeless families in Los Angeles, California, raised thousands of dollars for the Sickle Cell Disease Foundation and conducted workshops on fatherhood.
He has also spoken on various panels regarding police reform such as the annual convention for NOBLE (National Organization of Black Law Enforcement).