Damon Lindelof

Damon Laurence Lindelof (born April 24, 1973) is an American screenwriter, comic book writer, and producer.

Among his accolades, he received three Primetime Emmy Awards, from twelve nominations.

An early boost to Lindelof's writing career came in 1999, when he was selected as a semifinalist for a Nicholl Fellowship for his screenplay Perfectionists.

Before this, he had worked on reviewing scripts at Paramount, Fox, and Alan Ladd studios.

In 1999, Lindelof began his professional career as a writer on the drama series Wasteland and the anthology series Undressed.

Lindelof was also a writer on the CBS crime drama series Nash Bridges (2000–2001) and the NBC crime drama series Crossing Jordan (2001–2004).

He received further attention as a writer on the CBS crime drama series Nash Bridges, which he worked on from 2000 to 2001.

He then wrote and produced the NBC crime drama series Crossing Jordan, which he worked on until the end of its third season.

Lindelof is best known as the creator and showrunner of numerous critically acclaimed television series, such as the ABC science fiction drama series Lost (2004–2010), the HBO supernatural drama series The Leftovers (2014–2017), the HBO superhero limited series Watchmen (2019), and the Peacock science fiction limited series Mrs. Davis (2023).

In 2004, Lindelof received further recognition and success as an executive producer and showrunner (alongside Carlton Cuse) on the drama series Lost.

The series was praised for its unique brand of storytelling and strong characters.

The first two seasons of the show were ratings juggernauts and the show never fell out of the Top 30 throughout its six seasons on the air.

Lindelof's work on Lost garnered numerous awards and nominations throughout its run, including winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series in 2005.

Lindelof and the Lost writing staff won the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Dramatic Series at the February 2006 ceremony for their work on the first and second seasons.

He was nominated for the WGA Award for Best Dramatic Series a further three times: namely, the February 2007 ceremony for his work on the second and third seasons, at the February 2009 ceremony for his work on the fourth season and at the February 2010 ceremony for his work on the fifth season.

Lindelof and his co-writer Drew Goddard were also nominated for the WGA Award for Best Episodic Drama at the February 2008 ceremony for writing the episode "Flashes Before Your Eyes".

Lindelof and co-showrunner Carlton Cuse have been heralded as two of the first to truly embrace the changing times with things such as their daily podcast and being active in the fan community.

A majority of the six seasons were met with critical praise, but both Lindelof and Cuse were not afraid to address critiques on the show, be it through the podcast or other forms of media.

Lindelof was featured on a December 2008 episode of The Write Environment, a public television series featuring in-depth, candid one-on-one interviews with some of TV's most prolific and well-known series creator and writers.

The interview is also available on DVD.

While approaching the end of Lost, it was rumored that Lindelof and J. J. Abrams would write and direct a film adaptation of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series.

Lindelof dismissed this in a Q&A with USA Today in late 2009.

He commented, "After working six years on Lost, the last thing I want to do is spend the next seven years adapting one of my favorite books of all time. I'm such a massive Stephen King fan that I'm terrified of screwing it up. I'd do anything to see those movies written by someone else. My guess is they will get made because they're so incredible. But not by me."

Lindelof later served as co-producer on the 2009 science fiction action film, Star Trek, which was directed by frequent collaborator J. J. Abrams.

In May 2023, Lindelof and Cuse were accused of fostering a "toxic workplace" by several cast members and writers during their tenure on Lost.

In an excerpt from the book Burn It Down: Power, Complicity, and a Call for Change in Hollywood, author Maureen Ryan interviewed various actors, writers, and crew members from the series on the alleged toxicity behind the scenes.

Multiple sources claimed that Lindelof had said about the departure of Harold Perrineau from the series that the actor "called me racist, so I fired his ass."

Lindelof responded to the allegations by saying, "I have no recollection of those specific things. And that's not me saying that they didn't happen. I'm just saying that it's literally baffling my brain—that they did happen and that I bore witness to them or that I said them. To think that they came out of my mouth or the mouths of people that I still consider friends is just not computing."

Lindelof acknowledged personal failings during his time as showrunner on Lost, saying "My level of fundamental inexperience as a manager and a boss, my role as someone who was supposed to model a climate of creative danger and risk-taking but provide safety and comfort inside of the creative process—I failed in that endeavor" and "I have significantly evolved and grown, and it shouldn't have had to come at the cost and the trauma of people that I hurt on Lost."

In 2010, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

He co-wrote the films Cowboys & Aliens (2011), Prometheus (2012), Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), World War Z (2013), and Tomorrowland (2015).

Lindelof was born in Englewood, New Jersey, the son of Susan (Klausner), a teacher, and David Herbert Lindelof, a bank manager.

Lindelof's mother is Ashkenazi Jewish, with family from Białystok, Poland.

His father's ancestry included Swedish (where his Lindelof great-grandfather was born, in Välinge, Malmöhus), Norwegian, Spanish, and German.

Lindelof celebrated his Bar Mitzvah in Teaneck, where he attended synagogue.

Lindelof went to Teaneck High School, a school whose diverse student body he credits with expanding his horizons as a writer.

He has stated, "I was a Jewish white kid growing up in Teaneck, but at the same time, I had African and Filipino and Asian friends and to have that experience all through high school while getting an awesome education was wonderful."

He attended film school at New York University, performing briefly in the band Petting Zoo, and moved to Los Angeles after graduating.

However, Lindelof said in late 2013 that he would no longer be addressing those displeased with the way the show ended, stating:

"And what do I do? I jump at the opportunity to acknowledge how many people were dissatisfied with how it ended. I try to be self-deprecating and witty when I do this, but that's an elaborate (or obvious?) defense mechanism to let people know I'm fully aware of the elephant in the room and I'm perfectly fine with it sitting down on my face and shitting all over me ... And here's my part: I will finally stop talking about it. I'm not doing this because I feel entitled or above it — I'm doing it because I accept that I will not change hearts nor minds. I will not convince you they weren't dead the whole time, nor resent you for believing they were despite my infinite declarations otherwise."