Jerrod Carmichael

Rothaniel Jerrod Carmichael ( ; born April 6, 1987) is an American comedian, actor, writer, and filmmaker.

Born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, he later moved to Los Angeles, where his career began in the early 2010s comedy club scene. Carmichael has since released four stand-up comedy specials on HBO: Love at the Store (2014), 8 (2017), Rothaniel (2022), and Don't Be Gay (2025), the third of which won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special. He also co-created, co-wrote, produced, and starred in the semi autobiographical NBC sitcom The Carmichael Show (2015–2017).

Carmichael made his feature film directorial debut when he directed, produced, and starred in the dark comedy film On the Count of Three (2021). In 2022, he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for guest hosting an episode of Saturday Night Live.

In 2023, Carmichael hosted the 80th Golden Globe Awards and appeared in the Academy Award-winning film Poor Things. In 2024, he was the subject of the HBO documentary series, Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show, which had its world premiere at South by Southwest.

Early life Rothaniel Jerrod Carmichael was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on April 6, 1987. He has one older brother named Joe.

In 2005, he graduated from Robert B. Glenn High School in Kernersville, North Carolina.

Career Carmichael moved to Los Angeles at the age of 20 to pursue a stand-up comedy career, despite never having tried it before. His first time doing stand-up was at an open mic night at The Comedy Store in West Hollywood. Working his way up through the comedy clubs, he appeared in the "New Faces" showcase at the 2011 Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal. He appeared on the show The Goodwin Games (2013) His first HBO stand-up comedy special, Love at the Store (2014), was directed by Spike Lee and filmed at The Comedy Store.

Carmichael's second stand-up comedy special, 8 (2017), was directed by friend and fellow comedian Bo Burnham and filmed in the Grand Lodge Room of New York's Masonic Hall. Carmichael next co-created, co-wrote, produced, and starred in the semi-biographical NBC sitcom The Carmichael Show (2015–2017), which was well-received and was notable for broaching topics including the Black Lives Matter movement, LGBT issues, gun rights, politics, and the reality of being black in America. He also served as an executive producer for the Fox sitcom Rel (2018–2019) and directed Drew Michael's stand-up comedy special Drew Michael (2018), which was acclaimed for its "unusual style".

Carmichael made an appearance on rapper Tyler, the Creator's album Igor (2019), narrating the album using short phrases to find logic in the title character Igor's state of mind. That same year, he was hired by Quentin Tarantino to co-write a film adaptation based on the Django/Zorro crossover comic book series. He created, directed, produced, and starred in the HBO autobiographical documentaries Home Videos (2019) and Sermon on the Mount (2019).

His feature film directorial debut, On the Count of Three, competed in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival; Carmichael directed, produced, and starred in the film.

His third HBO special, Rothaniel (2022), was also directed by Burnham and earned Carmichael the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special. Two days after the release of Rothaniel, Carmichael hosted Saturday Night Live for the first time, for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series. He also won the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Television Writing in a Comedy/Variety Specials for his work writing Rothaniel. That year, he also appeared in the Academy Award-winning film Poor Things alongside Emma Stone.

In 2024, he starred in Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show, an HBO documentary series revolving around his life. The series screened at South by Southwest on March 10, 2024, before being released on HBO 19 days later.

On May 24, 2025, his fourth special Don't Be Gay premiered on HBO's streaming service Max.

Influences His early comedic influences were George Carlin, Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor, and Sinbad.

Personal life Carmichael lives in New York City. He has discussed his relationships with both men and women in his work, before coming out as gay in his comedy special Rothaniel'' (2022).

Filmography Film

Television Year Title Credited as Role Notes Actor Director Writer Creator Producer 2013 The Goodwin Games Elijah 3 episodes 2013 Comedy Bang! Bang! Pranked Guy Episode: "Zoe Saldana Wears a Tan Blouse & Glasses" 2013 Axe Cop Guy Voice, episode: "Babysitting Uni-Baby" 2014 Love at the Store Himself Stand-up comedy special 2014–2015 Lucas Bros Moving Co. Jerrod Voice, 14 episodes 2015–2017 The Carmichael Show Jerrod Carmichael 32 episodes2016The Chris Gethard Show HimselfEpisode: "Family Dinner" 2017 8 Himself Stand-up comedy special 2018 Drew Michael: Drew Michael Stand-up comedy special 2018–2019 Rel Executive producer 2019 The Shop Himself Episode: #2.1 2019 Ramy 2019 Home Videos Himself Documentary 2019 Sermon on the Mount Himself Documentary 2022 Rothaniel Himself Stand-up comedy special 2022 Saturday Night Live Himself (host) Episode 16 of Season 47: "Jerrod Carmichael/Gunna" 2023 80th Golden Globe Awards Himself (host) Television special 2024 Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show Himself Documentary series 2025 RuPaul's Drag Race Himself Guest judge (Season 17, episode 12) 2025 Don't Be Gay Himself Stand-up comedy special

Music videos Year Song Artist Director Role 2017 "Moonlight" Jay-Z Alan Yang Ross Geller

Awards and nominations Association Year Category Work Result Black Reel Awards 2018 Outstanding Actor, Comedy Series The Carmichael Show 2022 Outstanding Variety, Talk or Sketch – Series or Special Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel 2024 Outstanding Breakthrough Performance Poor Things Critics' Choice Television Awards 2023 Best Comedy Special Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel Dorian Awards 2022 Wilde Wit LGBTQIA+ Trailblazer Gotham TV Awards 2024 Breakthrough Nonfiction Series Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show NAACP Image Awards 2023 Outstanding Writing in a Television Movie or Special Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel Primetime Emmy Awards (Creative Arts) 2022 Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series Saturday Night Live Primetime Emmy Awards 2022 Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel Sundance Film Festival 2021 Grand Jury Prize – U.S. Dramatic Competition On the Count of Three Writers Guild of America Awards 2023 Best Television Writing in a Comedy/Variety Specials Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel