---
name: "Elizabeth Sarnoff"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/elizabeth-sarnoff"
fi1m_id: "elizabeth-sarnoff"
imdb_id: "nm0765438"
tmdb_id: 167784
wikidata_id: "Q1134799"
roles: ["Writer","Producer"]
born: "1 January 1953"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 6
average_fi1m_score: 78
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 5
updated: "2026-09-17T11:46:40.379394+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Elizabeth Sarnoff

## Identity

Elizabeth Sarnoff

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/elizabeth-sarnoff
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** elizabeth-sarnoff
- **IMDb ID:** nm0765438
- **TMDB ID:** 167784
- **Wikidata ID:** Q1134799
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Sarnoff, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1134799, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0765438/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/167784

Writer and producer. Born 1 January 1953 in New York City.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer, Producer
- **Born:** 1 January 1953, New York City
- **Active:** 1993–present
- **Also known as:** Liz Sarnoff
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 6: 5 writing, 1 producing
- **Frequently works with:** [Adam Davidson](https://film.one/person/adam-davidson.md), [Alan Taylor](https://film.one/person/alan-taylor.md), [Bernadette McNamara](https://film.one/person/bernadette-mcnamara.md), [Dan Attias](https://film.one/person/dan-attias.md), [David Milch](https://film.one/person/david-milch.md), [Davis Guggenheim](https://film.one/person/davis-guggenheim.md), [Eric Laneuville](https://film.one/person/eric-laneuville.md), [George Putnam](https://film.one/person/george-putnam.md)
- **Primetime Emmy Awards:** 4 Emmy nominations
- **Average Fi1m score:** 78, as writer, over 5 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1990s 82 (1), 2000s 86 (2), 2010s 86 (2), 2020s 50 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 78 to 71 across 5 titles
- **Score spread:** 4 at 80+, 0 at 60–79, 1 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 5, Crime 3, Mystery 2, Action & Adventure 1, Comedy 1, Western 1
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Sarnoff, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1134799, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0765438/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/167784

## Streaming the US now

- **HBO Max:** [*Deadwood*](https://film.one/tv/deadwood.md) (91), [*Barry*](https://film.one/tv/barry.md) (85)
- **Disney+:** [*Lost*](https://film.one/tv/lost.md) (81)
- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Scarpetta*](https://film.one/tv/scarpetta.md) (50)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Elizabeth Sarnoff

> Elizabeth Sarnoff's writing credits include the superb *Deadwood*, but her own *Scarpetta* leaves us unconvinced. Its stars give us a reason to stay; the storytelling around them needs firmer control.

Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis bicker in *Scarpetta* (2026), and their exchanges are the chief reason to stay through its eight episodes. Elizabeth Sarnoff created and wrote the series, but the two timelines, gore and chatbot pull it in different directions. It never settles on what it is for. Her work on other people's series gives us considerably more confidence than this attempt to run her own.

Her association with David Milch began with writing and story-editing work on *NYPD Blue* and *Big Apple* (2001), before she joined *Deadwood* (2004). She wrote four episodes across its first two seasons, becoming a producer for the second. We were gripped by *Deadwood* because the struggle to live together mattered as much as the violence. Ian McShane is extraordinary, although the elaborate speeches can try our patience. Milch was the showrunner, and our enthusiasm for the series cannot tell us which virtues are hers alone.

She joined *Lost* as a writer and producer in 2005 and had become an executive producer by its final season in 2010. That was a sustained stretch of ensemble storytelling, with Christina M. Kim among her co-writers. She co-created *Alcatraz* (2012) with Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt, then later wrote for the dark comedy *Barry* (2018). The recurring interest is in damaged people, their private troubles and their difficulties with the institutions around them. It is a useful foundation for ensemble writing, provided the plot leaves room for anyone to behave like a person.

Adapting Patricia Cornwell's novels for *Scarpetta*, Sarnoff makes room for women who make decisions and hold to their convictions. That is welcome, and Kidman and Curtis are allowed to be difficult company without forfeiting our attention. Yet their bickering cannot give eight episodes a clear purpose, and neither the gore nor the divided chronology supplies one. We would like to see her trust their exchanges enough to leave some of the distractions out. Start with *Deadwood*; try *Scarpetta* only if Kidman and Curtis are sufficient inducement.

## Biography

Elizabeth Sarnoff is an American television writer and producer, also credited as Liz Sarnoff. She graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and began her television career writing episodes of *NYPD Blue* and *Crossing Jordan*. She served as story editor on the series *Big Apple* (2001).

Sarnoff joined the writing staff of *Deadwood* in 2004 as executive story editor and writer for the first season, later becoming a producer. She contributed episodes to *Lost* from 2005, advancing to executive producer by the series’ final season in 2010. She co-created the Fox series *Alcatraz* (2012) and has written for *Marco Polo* and *Barry* (2018–2023).

Sarnoff is the creator and showrunner of the Amazon Prime Video series *Scarpetta* (2026), on which she also serves as writer.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, encyclopedia.com, finaldraft.com.*

## On Fi1m (6)

### Wrote (5) — the average rests on these

- *Scarpetta* (2026), Fi1m 50, Writer, Executive Producer, Creator — [page](https://film.one/tv/scarpetta.md)
- *Barry* (2018), Fi1m 85, Executive Producer, Writer, Consulting Producer — [page](https://film.one/tv/barry.md)
- *Deadwood* (2004), Fi1m 91, Writer, Producer — [page](https://film.one/tv/deadwood.md)
- *Lost* (2004), Fi1m 81, Writer, Supervising Producer, Producer, Co-Executive Producer, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/tv/lost.md)
- *NYPD Blue* (1993), Fi1m 82, Teleplay, Story — [page](https://film.one/tv/nypd-blue.md)

### Produced (1)

- *The Leftovers* (2014), Fi1m 87, Consulting Producer — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-leftovers.md)

## Complete filmography (14)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Scarpetta* (2026), series, Executive Producer, Writer, Creator — Fi1m 50, [page](https://film.one/tv/scarpetta.md)
- *Late Night* (2019), Thanks
- *Barry* (2018), series, as Liz · Writer, Consulting Producer, Executive Producer — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/tv/barry.md)
- *Marco Polo: One Hundred Eyes* (2015), Executive Producer
- *Kiss Me* (2015), Writer
- *Marco Polo* (2014), series, Writer
- *The Leftovers* (2014), series, Consulting Producer — Fi1m 87, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-leftovers.md)
- *Alcatraz* (2012), series, Writer, Executive Producer, Creator
- *Lost* (2004), series, Writer, Producer, Supervising Producer, Co-Executive Producer, Executive Producer — Fi1m 81, [page](https://film.one/tv/lost.md)
- *Deadwood* (2004), series, Writer, Producer — Fi1m 91, [page](https://film.one/tv/deadwood.md)
- *Chasing Papi* (2003), Screenplay
- *Crossing Jordan* (2001), series, Writer
- *NYPD Blue* (1993), series, Story, Teleplay — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/nypd-blue.md)
- *Good in Bed*, Writer

## Awards

### Primetime Emmy Awards — 0 won, 4 nominated

- 2010: Outstanding Drama Series (nominated), for *Lost*
- 2009: Outstanding Drama Series (nominated), for *Lost*
- 2008: Outstanding Drama Series (nominated), for *Lost*
- 2005: Outstanding Drama Series (nominated), for *Deadwood*

### Other awards — 1 won, 4 nominated

- Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Dramatic Series 2010: Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Dramatic Series (nominated), for *Lost*
- Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Dramatic Series 2009: Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Dramatic Series (nominated), for *Lost*
- Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Dramatic Series 2007: Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Dramatic Series (nominated), for *Lost*
- Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Episodic Drama 2007: Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Episodic Drama (nominated), for *Two for the Road*
- Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Dramatic Series 2006: Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Dramatic Series (won), for *Lost*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/elizabeth-sarnoff