Rothaniel Jerrod Carmichael (/dʒəˈrɒd/ jə-ROD; born April 6, 1987) is an American comedian, actor, writer, and filmmaker.^[1][2] He has released three stand-up comedy specials on HBO: Love at the Store (2014), 8 (2017), and Rothaniel (2022). He co-created, co-wrote, produced, and starred in the semi autobiographical NBC sitcom The Carmichael Show (2015–2017).

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

Rothaniel Jerrod Carmichael was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on April 6, 1987.^[3] He has an older brother named Joe.^[2] He grew up poor, which is a frequent topic in his stand-up comedy. In fifth grade, he hosted a morning news show on his elementary school's local access channel.^[4] In 2005, he graduated from Robert B. Glenn High School in Kernersville, North Carolina.^[5] His early comedic influences were George Carlin, Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor, and Sinbad.^[6]

Carmichael moved to Los Angeles at the age of 20 to pursue a stand-up comedy career, despite never having tried it before.^[7] His first time doing stand-up was at an open mic night at The Comedy Store in West Hollywood.^[8] Working his way up through the comedy clubs, he appeared in the "New Faces" showcase at the 2011 Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal.^[9] He appeared on the show The Goodwin Games (2013)^[9] and had his breakout role as an actor in the film Neighbors (2014).^[2][10] His first HBO stand-up comedy special, Love at the Store (2014), was directed by Spike Lee and filmed at The Comedy Store.^[8][11]

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.^[12] 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.^{[13][14][15][16][17]} 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; Michael talks directly to the camera in a dark room without an audience, intercut with scenes of him engaging in varying degrees of confrontation with an unidentified woman played by English actress Suki Waterhouse.^[18]

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.^[19] That same year, he was hired by Quentin Tarantino to co-write a film adaptation based on the Django/Zorro crossover comic book series.^[20] He created, directed, produced, and starred in the HBO autobiographical documentaries Home Videos (2019) and Sermon on the Mount (2019). He directed, produced, and starred in the dark comedy film On the Count of Three (2021), making his feature directorial debut.^[21] 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.^[22] 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.

In 2023, Carmichael hosted the 80th Golden Globe Awards.^[23] He starred in Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show (2024), a documentary series revolving around his life.^[24]

Carmichael lives in New York City.^[25] He discussed his relationships with both men and women in his work,^[26][27] before coming out as gay in his comedy special Rothaniel (2022).^[28]

• LGBT culture in New York City
• List of LGBT people from New York City