Carvell stumbled into a comedy career "by accident".[1] He heard about an opening on the TV comedy series The Daily Show with Jon Stewart from Steve Bodow, one of the writers on that show. He submitted a writing sample that consisted of the headlines that Jon Stewart reads at the desk and dialogue between Stewart and correspondents. Carvell was then interviewed by the show's head writer and the executive producer. He joined the show in March 2004, just as the 2004 U.S. presidential campaign was becoming a common news topic. Describing the subsequent meeting with Stewart as "surreal", Carvell says, "it felt uncannily like I was suddenly a guest on the show, only without a book or movie to promote."[1] In 2011, Carvell became the series' head writer.[6] As a staff writer for the show, he won six Emmy Awards between 2004 and 2012.[1]
Since 2005, he has written the "Planet Tad" column for Mad magazine.[7] In 2012, he wrote a book based on the column, also called Planet Tad.[8] In 2014, Carvell followed John Oliver to his new HBO series Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, where he serves as showrunner for the series.[9]
Personal life
Tim Carvell is a native of Bloomfield Hills, a suburb of Detroit. He entered Columbia University in 1991, majoring in history. While there, he wrote news and features for Spectator which he described as "as good a journalism education as you could get. It allowed you to learn by making mistakes, without suffering real consequences." He graduated in 1995.[1]
Carvell married his partner, Thomas Keeton, on June 28, 2014.[10]
Related Research Articles
The Daily Show is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central, with extended episodes released shortly after on Paramount+. The Daily Show draws its comedy and satire from recent news stories, political figures, and media organizations. It often uses self-referential humor.
Jon Stewart is an American comedian, writer, producer, director, political commentator, actor and television host. The long-running host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central from 1999 to 2015, Stewart returned to the satirical news program in 2024. He hosted The Problem with Jon Stewart on Apple TV+ from 2021 to 2023. Stewart has received numerous accolades, including 23 Primetime Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards, and five Peabody Awards. He was honored with the Bronze Medallion in 2019, and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2022.
Ben Karlin is an American television producer and writer. He has won eight Emmy awards, and is best known for his work in The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report. He is one of three co-creators of The Colbert Report along with Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart. Karlin left Comedy Central in December 2006. He has also been a writer for TV show Modern Family.
John William Oliver is a British and American comedian who hosts Last Week Tonight with John Oliver on HBO. He started his career as a stand-up comedian in the United Kingdom and came to wider attention for his work in the United States as the Senior British Correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart from 2006 to 2013. Oliver won three Primetime Emmy Awards for writing for The Daily Show and became its guest host for an eight-week period in 2013. He also co-hosted the comedy podcast The Bugle with Andy Zaltzman, with whom Oliver had previously worked on the radio series Political Animal and The Department. From 2010 to 2013, he hosted the stand-up series John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show on Comedy Central. His acting roles include Ian Duncan on the NBC sitcom Community and voice work in the animated films The Smurfs (2011), The Smurfs 2 (2013), and The Lion King remake (2019).
Terence Patrick Winter is an American writer and producer of television and film. He was the creator, writer, and executive producer of the HBO television series Boardwalk Empire (2010–2014). Before creating Boardwalk Empire, Winter was a writer and executive producer for the HBO television series The Sopranos, from the show's second to sixth and final season (2000–2007).
Paul Mecurio is a comedian, actor, writer and producer. Mecurio has dozens of TV and film appearances and has won an Emmy Award and a Peabody Award. Mecurio worked as an investment banker and mergers and acquisitions lawyer before he turned to stand-up comedy full time.
Wyatt John Foster Cenac Jr. is an American comedian, actor, producer, and writer. He was a correspondent and writer for The Daily Show from 2008 to 2012. He starred in the TBS series People of Earth and in Barry Jenkins's first feature Medicine for Melancholy. He also hosted and produced the HBO series Wyatt Cenac's Problem Areas.
Rory Scot Albanese is an American comedian, comedy writer and television producer. He was a showrunner, executive producer and writer for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, which he joined in 1999 and was with until October 2013. He was an executive producer and showrunner of The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore.
Planet Tad is a 2012 comedic children's novel by Tim Carvell. The book is based on the ongoing Mad magazine feature of the same name. Planet Tad was published by HarperCollins in May 2012.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver is an American late-night talk and satire television program hosted by comedian John Oliver. The half-hour-long show premiered in the end of April 2014 on HBO and currently premieres simultaneously on the network and Max. Last Week Tonight shares some similarities with Comedy Central's The Daily Show, as the show takes a satirical look at news, politics and current events, but on a weekly basis.
Josh Lieb is an American writer and television producer.
The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore is an American late-night panel talk show hosted by Larry Wilmore that aired on Comedy Central from January 19, 2015, to August 18, 2016. The show was a spin-off of The Daily Show, which featured Wilmore as a recurring contributor. It aired Monday through Thursday at 11:30 PM (ET) following The Daily Show. It served as a replacement for The Colbert Report, which aired in the same time-slot from October 2005 to December 2014.
Timothy Greenberg is an American writer, director and producer based in New York City. In 2019, Greenberg created the Netflix series Living with Yourself, for which he received a Writers Guild Award nomination. He also served as an executive producer of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, where he won two Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award.
The Problem with Jon Stewart is an American current affairs television series hosted by Jon Stewart on Apple TV+. Each episode focuses on a single issue. The series premiered on September 30, 2021. The second season premiered on October 7, 2022. The series was canceled in October 2023 after two seasons.
Juli Weiner is an American writer known for her work on the HBO show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.
The first season of late-night talk and news satire television program Last Week Tonight with John Oliver originally aired between April 27, 2014, and November 9, 2014, on HBO in the United States. The season was produced by Avalon Television, and the executive producers were host John Oliver, Tim Carvell, James Taylor, and Jon Thoday, with Joe Perota as director.
The second season of late-night talk and news satire television program Last Week Tonight with John Oliver originally aired between February 8, 2015, and November 22, 2015, on HBO in the United States. The season was produced by Avalon Television and Sixteen String Jack Productions; the executive producers were host John Oliver, Tim Carvell, and Liz Stanton, with Paul Pennolino as director.
The third season of late-night talk and news satire television program Last Week Tonight with John Oliver originally aired between February 14, 2016, and November 13, 2016, on HBO in the United States. The season was produced by Avalon Television and Sixteen String Jack Productions; the executive producers were host John Oliver, Tim Carvell, and Liz Stanton, with Paul Pennolino as director.
The fourth season of late-night talk and news satire television program Last Week Tonight with John Oliver originally aired between February 12 and November 12, 2017, on HBO in the United States. The season was produced by Avalon Television and Sixteen String Jack Productions; the executive producers were host John Oliver, Tim Carvell, and Liz Stanton, with Paul Pennolino as director. Last Week Tonight aired on Sundays at 11pm, and had a total of 30 episodes. The season was generally well received, winning four Emmy Awards, one GLAAD Media Award, one TCA Award, and one WGA Award. The show continued to release the main stories of each broadcast on its YouTube channel after each episode aired.
Michael Brumm, Nate Charny, Aaron Cohen, Stephen Colbert, Richard Dahm, Paul Dinello, Eric Drysdale, Rob Dubbin, Glenn Eichler, Gabe Gronli, Barry Julien, Jay Katsir, Sam Kim, Matthew Lappin, Frank Lesser, Opus Moreschi, Tom Purcell, Meredith Scardino, and Max Werner (2014)
Johnathan Appel, Ali Barthwell, Tim Carvell, Liz Hynes, Greg Iwinski, Mark Kramer, Daniel O'Brien, John Oliver, Owen Parsons, Charlie Redd, Joanna Rothkopf, Chrissy Shackelford, Ben Silva, and Seena Vali (2021)
Daniel O'Brien, Owen Parsons, Charlie Redd, Joanna Rothkopf, Seena Vali, Johnathan Appel, Ali Barthwell, Tim Carvell, Liz Hynes, Greg Iwinski, Ryan Ken, Mark Kramer, Sofía Manfredi, John Oliver, Taylor Kay Phillips, and Chrissy Shackelford (2022)
Daniel O'Brien, Owen Parsons, Charlie Redd, Joanna Rothkopf, Seena Vali, Johnathan Appel, Ali Barthwell, Tim Carvell, Liz Hynes, Ryan Ken, Mark Kramer, Sofia Manfredi, John Oliver, Taylor Kay Phillips, and Chrissy Shackelford (2023)
Daniel O'Brien, Owen Parsons, Charlie Redd, Joanna Rothkopf, Seena Vali, Johnathan Appel, Ali Barthwell, Tim Carvell, Liz Hynes, Ryan Ken, Mark Kramer, Sofía Manfredi, John Oliver, Taylor Kay Phillips, and Chrissy Shackelford (2024)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
