Jerrod Carmichael (/dʒəˈrɒd/ jə-ROD; born April 7, 1987) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, director, and producer. He co-created, co-wrote, produced, and starred in the semi-biographical NBC sitcom The Carmichael Show (2015–2017).
He also has released three stand-up comedy specials on HBO: Love at the Store (2014), 8 (2017), and Rothaniel (2022). Carmichael came out as gay in Rothaniel.
Carmichael 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. His early comedic influences were George Carlin, Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor, and Sinbad.
At the age of 20, Carmichael moved to Los Angeles to pursue his dream of being a stand-up comedian despite never having tried it before. His first time doing stand-up was an open-mic night at The Comedy Store in West Hollywood. Working his way up through the clubs, he appeared in the "New Faces" showcase at the 2011 Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal. His breakout role was in the 2014 film Neighbors. He was also on the TV show The Goodwin Games.
Carmichael 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 its envelope-pushing approach to topical subjects such as the Black Lives Matter movement, LGBT issues, gun rights, politics, and the reality of being black in America. He has released two stand-up HBO comedy specials. The first, Love at the Store, was released in 2014. It was directed by Spike Lee and filmed at The Comedy Store. The second, 8, was released on March 11, 2017. It was filmed in the New York Masonic Hall's Grand Lodge Room and directed by Bo Burnham.
Carmichael served as an executive producer for the sitcom Rel, which was picked up by Fox in May 2018 and cancelled after one season. He made an appearance on Tyler, The Creator's 2019 album IGOR, narrating the album as it progresses and speaking short lines to make sense of Tyler's (and the title character Igor's) state of mind. Later that year, he was hired by Quentin Tarantino to co-write a film adaptation based on the Django/Zorro crossover comic book series. He directed and starred in the comedy thriller film On the Count of Three (2021) and is currently filming his next stand-up special, again directed by Burnham.