Mark Goffman is an American television writer and producer. He currently serves as an executive producer for the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

series ''The Umbrella Academy''. Prior to that, Goffman worked as the

showrunner A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also th ...

and an executive producer for

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

's ''Bull''.

Early life

Goffman began writing professionally in Brussels, for the magazine ''Commerce in Belgium''. He went on to

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

’s

Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

to receive a masters in public policy. He has written speeches for state and federally elected officials and has consulted to the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

and the White House. Goffman has a B.A. in Economics and Philosophy from

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

and served as a Masters Thesis Advisor, Fiction Writing Program, at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

Career

Goffman began his TV writing career in 2002 as a staff writer on ''

The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American serial (radio and television), serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the ...

'', where he wrote for several seasons. In 2006, he joined

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

’s ''

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip ''Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip'' is an American comedy-drama television series created and primarily written by Aaron Sorkin. The series was about the production of a live comedy series, similar to ''Saturday Night Live''. Produced by Warner B ...

'', where he was a producer and ran the writers' room. Goffman has worked on more than 200 hours of scripted television, been nominated for two

Writers Guild of America Awards The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949. Eligibility The ...

, and won the Entertainment Industries Council SET Award.

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

has listed Goffman as one of the 50 most influential writers in television. One of his episodes of Law and Order: SVU garnered

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

and

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

nominations for

Mariska Hargitay Mariska Magdolna Hargitay (; born January 23, 1964) is an American actress, director and philanthropist. The daughter of bodybuilder and actor Mickey Hargitay and actress Jayne Mansfield, her accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award, a People's ...

in 2009. He has also served as the showrunner for seasons 1 and 2 on

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's '' Sleepy Hollow'', as well as an executive producer for CBS's '' Limitless'' and

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...

's '' White Collar''. His pilot ''I Am Victor'', starring John Stamos, was produced for

. Goffman also wrote and directed the critically acclaimed feature documentary, '' Dumbstruck'', a film about

ventriloquists Ventriloquism, or ventriloquy, is a performance act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) creates the illusion that their voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered prop known as a "dummy". The act of ventriloquism is ve ...

, which was released in Spring 2011 by Magnolia Pictures. Goffman's play, ''Me Too'', produced by

David O. Sacks David Oliver Sacks (born 25 May 1972) is a South African American entrepreneur, author, and investor in internet technology firms. He is general partner of Craft Ventures, a venture capital fund he co-founded in late 2017. Previously, Sacks wa ...

, premiered at the Stella Adler Theater in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

. In 2020, Goffman appeared as a guest on the ''

'' marathon fundraiser episode of ''

The George Lucas Talk Show ''The George Lucas Talk Show'' is an improvised talk show in New York City hosted by comedian Connor Ratliff, who appears as George Lucas, the creator of '' Star Wars'', and he interviews real guests as themselves in a panel format. He is join ...

.''

References

External links

* * * *
''Dumbstruck'' website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goffman, Mark American male writers American television writers American male television writers Harvard Kennedy School alumni Living people American screenwriters American male screenwriters Emory University alumni Year of birth missing (living people)