Jerrod Carmichael Announces New HBO Comedy Special “Rothaniel” [Video]

Today, Jerrod Carmichael announced a new stand-up special Rothaniel which marks his return to the spotlight after seemingly taking a little time off. In the trailer, directed by his frequent collaborator Bo Burnham, Carmichael states how he’s ready to stop being “shrouded in secrecy.” There is a very mysterious air around the special in the trailer and that only makes us want to see it even more, so it worked!

This marks the third HBO standup comedy special for Jerrod, who made his HBO debut in 2014 with the stand-up special Jerrod Carmichael: Love at the Store, which was followed by Jerrod Carmichael: 8 in 2017. 

Carmichael’s two-part video diary “Home Videos” and “Sermon On The Mount” also premiered on HBO in 2019.

Rothaniel was filmed in February before a live audience at the legendary Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City. Directed by Bo Burnham; Executive produced by Jerrod Carmichael, Bo Burnham, Eli Bush, Matthew Vaughan and Josh Senior.

Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel will debut on Friday, April 1 at 9 p.m. ET and will also be available to stream on HBO Max. 

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 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 canceled 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.

He is set to host Saturday Night Live on April 2, 2022.