Cord Jefferson | |
|---|---|
 Jefferson atTIFF 2023 | |
| Born | Tucson, Arizona, U.S. |
| Occupation | Screenwriter, director, journalist |
| Education | College of William and Mary (BA) |
| Notable works | American Fiction (2023) |
| Notable awards | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series or Movie Toronto International Film Festival People's Choice Award Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay |
Cord Jefferson is an American writer and director. After studying at theCollege of William & Mary, he started a career in journalism and wrote for numerous publications before becoming an editor atGawker until 2014.
Jefferson transitioned to working as a writer for television. He wrote for theComedy Central late-night seriesThe Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore (2015–2016), theNetflix comedy seriesMaster of None (2017), and theNBCsitcomThe Good Place (2017–2019).[1] For his work on theHBO limited seriesWatchmen (2019), he received thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series or Movie. Jefferson made his feature directorial debut with the satireAmerican Fiction (2023), for which he received a nomination forBest Picture and wonBest Adapted Screenplay at the96th Academy Awards.
Cord Jefferson was born inTucson, Arizona,[2][3] to a white mother and black father. After living outside the United States for several years until Jefferson was about five years old, the family returned to Tucson. His maternal grandfather was shocked by his daughter's choice to marry a black man, and he shut her and his grandson out of his life.[4] Jefferson's parents divorced when he was 14 years old, after his first year of high school. Jefferson graduated fromCanyon del Oro High School north of Tucson.
He attended theCollege of William & Mary inWilliamsburg, Virginia, where his father had attended law school.[4] After college, Jefferson lived inLos Angeles and inBrooklyn, New York.[5][6] He also went toNYU for business school.[7]
Jefferson's mother died in 2016 of cancer.[6] When his father needed a kidney transplant in July 2008, Jefferson donated one of his, traveling to Saudi Arabia where his father lives.[5] Jefferson wrote a personal essay on the experience, noting that he was treated foratrial fibrillation and that, after surgery, he quit smoking and began to take better care of his health.[4]
As a writer, Jefferson got his start in journalism. Among his first jobs were writing for bothStereohyped andMollyGood.[8] He spent two years as an editor atGawker, from 2012 to 2014. He also wrote for publications includingUSA Today,Huffington Post,The Root, andThe New York Times Magazine.[9]
Jefferson started his television career in 2014 as a staff writer for theStarz comedy-drama seriesSurvivor's Remorse before writing for thecomedy Centrallate night seriesThe Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore from 2015 to 2016. Jefferson then became a story editor and consulting producer forAziz Ansari'sNetflix comedy seriesMaster of None (2017) and theMike Schur-createdNBCsitcomThe Good Place (2017–2019), for which he receivedWriters Guild of America Award nominations.[10][1] For his work on theHBO limited seriesWatchmen (2019), he received thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series or Movie for the episode, "This Extraordinary Being." In the middle of 2020, Jefferson worked on a TV series about his time writing forGawker. He is developing the show forApple TV+.[11] Later in that year, he signed an overall deal with Warner Bros. TV.[12]
In 2021, Jefferson served as a writer and supervising producer for the HBO limited seriesStation Eleven. He made his feature directorial debut with the satirical filmAmerican Fiction (2023), which won thePeople's Choice Award at theToronto International Film Festival and was nominated for five categories at the96th Academy Awards and wonBest Adapted Screenplay.[13]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | American Fiction | Director, writer, producer |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Survivor's Remorse | Staff writer | 6 episodes |
| 2015–2016 | The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore | Writer | 196 episodes |
| 2017 | Master of None | Story editor, consulting producer | 10 episodes |
| 2017–2019 | The Good Place | Writer, story editor, co-producer | 25 episodes |
| 2019 | Succession | Consultant | 10 episodes |
| 2019 | Watchmen | Writer, story editor | 9 episodes |
| 2021 | Station Eleven | Writer, supervising producer | Episode: "The Severn City Airport" |
| 2025 | It – Welcome to Derry | Writer | [14] |
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