Jessica Sharzer is writer, producer, and director best known for her work on Speak (2004), Nerve (2016), American Horror Story (2011-2015), and the new mystery thriller A Simple Favor (2018). Sharzer has been nominated for 3 Primetime Emmy's for her work on American Horror Story. Sharzer is working on The Young Elites based on Marie Lu's novel.
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Biography from IMDb.
- October 26, 1972 (54)
- Iowa City, Iowa, USA
- Writer, producer and director
- 9 on MovieCove · 12 credits in all
What are Jessica Sharzer's films like?
Across their 7 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 1 · Wry 1 · Earnest 4
A split, not a type: Light 3 · Serious 2 · Dark 1
Grounded 2 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 2
Gentle 1 · Charged 4 · Intense 1
Steady 2 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 5 · Funny 0
Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 1
Casual 2 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 1
A split, not a type: Easy watch 3 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 1
Resolved 4 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 1
Moods and endings
- Happy3
- Bittersweet4
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Jessica Sharzer's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 9 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Jessica Sharzer's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
12 credits, 9 with a MovieCove page.
Another Simple Favor(2025)
Midcredits score: 19th percentile of all films
Nine Perfect Strangers(2021)
Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all shows
Amazing Stories(2020)
Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all shows
A Simple Favor(2018)
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films
Dirty Dancing(2017)
Midcredits score: 4th percentile of all films
Nerve(2016)
Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films
American Horror Story(2011)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all shows
Turn the Beat Around(2010)
Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all films
Speak(2004)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films
Fly Cherry (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)
Semmelweis (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)
The Hunger (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 12 titles, 11 of them dated from 2001 to 2025.
Biggest box office
A Simple Favor (2018)
Highest rated
Speak (2004)
Most popular right now
Nine Perfect Strangers (2021)
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
Awards
5 major nominations and no wins, 2006–2015.
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Limited Series
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Miniseries
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Miniseries or Movie
- Directors Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children's Programs
- Writers Guild Award, nominated · Children's Script - Long Form
Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.
How do Jessica Sharzer's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 44th percentile, the median of all 6; across their 6 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 45th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up2
- 50th to 74th2
- 25th to 49th2
- Below 25th3
Shape of the crowd
3 of their 9 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved1
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser3
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed3
Reviewers score the dialogue 49/100 and the plot and story 42/100 in their films, across 5 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Jessica Sharzer's work okay for kids?
Across up to 5 MovieCove titles with content scores, sex & nudity, profanity, alcohol & drugs and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Jessica Sharzer work with?
People who share at least 2 of Jessica Sharzer's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Paul Feig shares the most, 2.
Directors
- Paul FeigShared titles: Another Simple Favor (2025), A Simple Favor (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Paul Feig
Writers
- Darcey BellShared titles: Another Simple Favor (2025), A Simple Favor (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Darcey Bell
Actors
- Andrew RannellsShared titles: Another Simple Favor (2025), A Simple Favor (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Andrew Rannells
- Anna KendrickShared titles: Another Simple Favor (2025), A Simple Favor (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Anna Kendrick
- Blake LivelyShared titles: Another Simple Favor (2025), A Simple Favor (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Blake Lively
- Elizabeth PerkinsShared titles: Another Simple Favor (2025), Speak (2004)See all 2 shared titles with Elizabeth Perkins
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Brent WhiteShared titles: Another Simple Favor (2025), A Simple Favor (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Brent White
- John SchwartzmanShared titles: Another Simple Favor (2025), A Simple Favor (2018)See all 2 shared titles with John Schwartzman
- Theodore ShapiroShared titles: Another Simple Favor (2025), A Simple Favor (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Theodore Shapiro
Producers
- Stephen MeinenShared titles: Dirty Dancing (2017), Nerve (2016)See all 2 shared titles with Stephen Meinen