Sarah Burns is an American film and television actress and comedian, best known for playing Krista on HBO's Enlightened. Born on Long Island, New York, Burns has performed improvisational comedy regularly at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City Burns is known for her appearances in comedic films and television series. Her film roles include Anne in Slow Learners (2015) opposite Adam Pally, Hailey in I Love You, Man (2009), Harper in Going the Distance (2010) and Janine Groff in Life as We Know It (2010). She has also appeared in television productions including Damage Control (one episode; 2005), Flight of the Conchords (one episode; 2007), Party Down (one episode; 2010) and Ben and Kate (one episode; 2012). She had a costarring role in the short film Cried Suicide (2010), which was screened at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival. Her short film "The First Step" (2012) premiered at the 2013 Seattle International Film Festival. She appears as part of a recurring cast of sketch players for the Comedy Central television series Drunk History, which premiered in July 2013. In 2015, Burns was a series regular in second season of the FX comedy series Married. Burns was cast as Assistant District Attorney Emily Sinclair in Season Two of the show How to Get Away With Murder. In 2009, Entertainment Weekly named her one of the "25 Funniest Actresses in Hollywood". In June 2013, Entertainment Weekly named Burns one of "15 Actresses We're Rooting For" as part of its "Emmy Watch". In 2016, Burns appeared as Margie Turley in the Lorne Michaels-produced Brother Nature. In 2017, Burns appeared as Gabrielle in the HBO original miniseries Big Little Lies and in the Netflix series Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later. In 2020, Burns appeared as Kaylie in the Netflix film Desperados as well as a major role in the Netflix series Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun.
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Biography from TMDB.
- July 26, 1981 (45)
- Long Island, New York, USA
- Actor, also producer
- 33 on MovieCove · 44 credits in all
What are Sarah Burns' films like?
Across their 15 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.
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 0 · Wry 2 · Earnest 9
Light 8 · Serious 1 · Dark 2
Grounded 7 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 0
Gentle 4 · Charged 6 · Intense 1
Steady 3 · Shifting 8 · Whiplash 0
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 2 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 7
Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 10 · Relentless 0
Casual 7 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 6 · Affecting 5 · Heavy 0
Resolved 8 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 0
Roles they play
- Allyas Janine Groff in Life as We Know It (2010)
- Heraldas Krista Jacobs in Enlightened (2011)
- Threshold guardianas Cheryl in Garfunkel and Oates (2014)
Moods and endings
- Happy6
- Bittersweet7
- Ambiguous1
- Cyclical1
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 Sarah Burns' films?
As of October 24, 2026, 25 of their 33 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Netflix (6).
Subscription and free streaming for Sarah Burns' 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
44 credits, 33 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.
The Last Fry (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)
Advanced Chemistry(2023)
Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films
Unfrosted(2024)
Midcredits score: 24th percentile of all films
Moving On(2022)
Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films
Bill Burr Presents Immoral Compass (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)
Muhammad Ali(2021)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all shows
Werewolves Within(2021)
Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films
Sisters (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)
Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all shows
Eat Wheaties!(2020)
Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all films
Desperados(2020)
Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all films
Brutal Realty, Inc. (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)
Barry(2018)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all shows
American Vandal(2017)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all shows
Unforgettable(2017)
Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all films
Big Little Lies(2017)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all shows
Speechless(2016)
Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all shows
Brother Nature(2016)
Midcredits score: 14th percentile of all films
Where You Are (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
Slow Learners(2015)
Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films
Grandma(2015)
Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all shows
Garfunkel and Oates(2014)
Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all shows
Married(2014)
Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all shows
A.C.O.D.(2013)
Midcredits score: 22nd percentile of all films
Enough Said(2013)
Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films
Drunk History(2013)
Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all shows
Gregory Go Boom (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
The Mindy Project(2012)
Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all shows
The New Normal(2012)
Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all showsLadies Remember Whitney Houston (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
Free Hugs (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)
Enlightened(2011)
Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all shows
New Girl(2011)
Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all shows
Life as We Know It(2010)
Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films
Going the Distance(2010)
Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films
Monogamy(2010)
Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all films
I Love You, Man(2009)
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films
Party Down(2009)
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all shows
Valentine's Break Up (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Flight of the Conchords(2007)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all shows
Serial (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
Cheating (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
Career shape
Star power in the 96th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 44 titles from 2006 to 2025; peak year 2009.
Biggest box office
Life as We Know It (2010)
Highest rated
Grandma (2015)
Most popular right now
Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later (2017)
Film career
Peak 2009 · steadily prominent in film for years. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.
- 2009Screen debut· I Love You, Man
- 2010Breakout· Life As We Know It
- 2018Career best· Barry
- 2018Screen Actors Guild Award nomination· Barry
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. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30; the columns are the share of top-billed roles in each era, 5-year spans from the year on the label, merged until each holds at least 5 roles.
Awards
Nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award in 2023, Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.
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 Sarah Burns' films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 41st percentile, the median of all 16; across their 11 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 40th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up12
- 50th to 74th7
- 25th to 49th8
- Below 25th6
Shape of the crowd
13 of their 33 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved6
- Divisive1
- Crowd Pleaser13
- Broadly Agreed3
- Mixed10
Reviewers score the acting 72/100 in their films, across 11 reviewed titles; fans 80, detractors 48. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
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 Sarah Burns' work okay for kids?
Across up to 7 MovieCove titles with content scores, profanity runs 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 Sarah Burns work with?
People who share at least 2 of Sarah Burns' MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Paul Weitz shares the most, 2.
Directors
- Paul WeitzShared titles: Moving On (2022), Grandma (2015)See all 2 shared titles with Paul Weitz
Actors
- Lily TomlinShared titles: Moving On (2022), Grandma (2015)See all 2 shared titles with Lily Tomlin
- Lamorne MorrisShared titles: Desperados (2020), Eat Wheaties! (2020)See all 2 shared titles with Lamorne Morris
- Katherine HeiglShared titles: Unforgettable (2017), Life as We Know It (2010)See all 2 shared titles with Katherine Heigl
- Zak OrthShared titles: Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later (2017), Monogamy (2010)See all 2 shared titles with Zak Orth
Cinematographers
- Tobias DatumShared titles: Moving On (2022), Grandma (2015)See all 2 shared titles with Tobias Datum
Producers
- Andrew MianoShared titles: Moving On (2022), Grandma (2015)See all 2 shared titles with Andrew Miano
- Dan BalgoyenShared titles: Moving On (2022), Grandma (2015)See all 2 shared titles with Dan Balgoyen
- Stephanie MeurerShared titles: Moving On (2022), Grandma (2015)See all 2 shared titles with Stephanie Meurer
- Justus McLartyShared titles: Werewolves Within (2021), Brother Nature (2016)See all 2 shared titles with Justus McLarty
Mixed roles
- David WainShared titles: Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later (2017), Brother Nature (2016)See all 2 shared titles with David Wain
