Liz Patrick

Liz Patrick is an American television director. She has been the director of Saturday Night Live since 2021. She is also known for directing 13 seasons of The Ellen DeGeneres Show and starting her directing career at MTV.

Education Patrick attended Boston University, where she graduated with a degree in Film and Television.

Career Patrick began her television directing career in New York City at MTV. From 1998 to 2017, she directed numerous shows, live music and awards specials for the network such as Total Request Live, MTV Spring Break, MTV Beach House, MTV New Year's Eve, among others.

In 2008, Patrick moved to Los Angeles to direct The Ellen DeGeneres Show, becoming the show's first female director. She spent 13 seasons at Ellen, directing a total of 2,195 episodes. In 2018, Patrick also became a producer of the show.

In 2021, Patrick became the director of Saturday Night Live, making her the show's fifth director, and only second female director (behind Beth McCarthy-Miller), in SNL 's 47 year history. She replaced director Don Roy King, who retired December 2021. At the start of the season, both King and Patrick co-directed together, with Patrick observing King on two episodes, until Patrick started directing Saturday Night Live solo on January 15, 2022. For her work on Saturday Night Live, she has won two Emmy Awards, including the show's record-breaking 101st Emmy Award in 2024.

On February 16, 2025, Patrick directed Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special, commemorating the 50th anniversary of Saturday Night Live. The three-hour live television special required Patrick and show designers to bring together SNL 's current and former cast members, musical guests, and celebrity hosts to honor five decades of cultural impact and groundbreaking television. The live broadcast was produced without the traditional dress rehearsal. Patrick won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special for SNL50.

In July 2025, Patrick directed the first televised edition of the Las Culturistas Culture Awards, co-created, and co-hosted by Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers. The show was produced in Los Angeles, and broadcast on Bravo, and streamed on Peacock on August 5, 2025.

Filmography + Year Title Notes 2007 MTV Goes Gold: New Year's Eve 2007 TV Special MTV News Presents: The Hottest MCs in the Game TV Movie Making the Band 4 TV Series (1 episode) Wild 'n Out TV Series (13 episodes) 2008–2021 The Ellen DeGeneres Show TV Series (2,195 episodes) 2008 Tila Tequila's New Year's Eve Masquerade 2008 TV Special Jackassworld.com: 24 Hour TakeoverTV Special Spring Break 2008: Pretty Smart TV Special New Now Next Awards TV Special FNMTV Premieres TV Special FNMTV Presents: A Miley-Sized Surprise... New Year's Eve 2009 TV Special 2010 The Hills Live: A Hollywood Ending TV Special The 2010 VH1 Do Something Awards TV Special Follow Me: The Search for the First MTV TJ TV Special MTV New Year's Bash 2011 TV Special 2013 Guy Court TV Series (8 episodes) 2014 Wolf Watch TV Series (7 episodes) 2015 Repeat After Me TV Series (8 episodes) 2016 MTV Fandom Awards TV Special Wanda Sykes: What Happened... Ms. Sykes? TV Special 2017 MTV Movie and TV Awards 2017 Pre-Show TV Special Heads Up! TV Series (50 episodes) 2017 Logo Trailblazer Honors TV Special 2018 2018 VH1 Trailblazer Honors TV Special 2020–2021 Ellen's Game of Games TV Series (20 episodes) 2021–present Saturday Night Live TV Series 2021 Rupi Kaur Live TV Special Michael Bublé's Christmas in the City TV Special 2022–2024 Saturday Night Live Christmas Special TV Series (2 episodes) 2024 The 2024 SNL Election Special TV Special 2025 Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special TV Special Las Culturistas Culture Awards TV Special

Awards and nominations Directors Guild of America Awards Year Category Nominated Work Result 2022 Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Variety/Talk/News/Sports – Regularly Scheduled Programming Saturday Night Live 2023 Saturday Night Live 2024 Saturday Night Live 2025 Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Variety Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special

Emmy Awards Year Category Nominated Work Result Primetime Emmy Awards 2022 Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series Saturday Night Live 2023 Saturday Night Live 2024 Saturday Night Live 2025 Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special 2026 Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series Saturday Night Live Daytime Emmy Awards 2002 Outstanding Special Class Directing Total Request Live 2003 2009 Outstanding Directing in a Talk Show/Morning Program The Ellen DeGeneres Show 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Outstanding Talk Show/Entertainment 2015 2016 2017 Outstanding Directing in a Talk Show/Morning Program 2018 Outstanding Talk Show/Entertainment 2019 Outstanding Directing in a Talk Show/Morning Program 2020