JAY KARAS

Jay Karas directs both comedy and drama, in a variety of mediums: hours and half hours, commercials, stand-up specials, and feature films.Recent highlights include directing episodes of Showtime's DICE—one guest-starring Adrien Brody, which landed on Hollywood Reporter's "Critics' Picks: The 15 Best TV Episodes of The Year"—and TV Land's TEACHERS, which made Vanity Fair's "5 Underrated TV Shows You Should Watch Right Now." Karas served as its director/producer.Jay has directed numerous other half hours, including Brooklyn Nine Nine (FOX), Superstore (NBC), The Unicorn, Life In Pieces (CBS), The Kids Are Alright, Splitting Up Together (ABC), Parks and Recreation (NBC), Workaholics (Comedy Central),  and Married (FX), and one hours including Siren, The Fosters, the pilot Unstrung for Freeform, Finding Carter for MTV, and The Baker and the Beauty for ABC. Click here for a complete list of credits.Jay's first feature film, Break Point, had its premiere at SXSW, and stars Jeremy Sisto, David Walton, JK Simmons, Amy Smart, Chris Parnell, and Adam Devine. See the trailer here. His most recent feature is The Main Event, a Netflix Original for their Family Films division. The film climbed to the #2 and #3 most-watched movie in numerous countries around the world, providing a hundred minutes of funny-with-heart, family-friendly entertainment. Check out the trailer here.Jay also recently co-wrote his first feature—an action-comedy entitled The Extraditers, which 21 Laps (Arrival, Stranger Things) is producing. He wrote the film with Dean Ward, a partnership born out of their multi-season collaboration on After Lately. The mockumentary series, on which Jay was showrunner and director —think Larry Sanders, but scripted behind-the-scenes of an actual talk show—starred Chelsea Handler and featured guests such as Reese Witherspoon, Charlize Theron, Jane Fonda, and Jennifer Aniston.  It was recently announced that Karas and Ward were also commissioned to rewrite the comedy feature Man Up for CBS Films.As a passionate fan of stand-up, Karas has also directed over 25 comedy specials for top comics including Ali Wong, Jeff Ross, Jim Gaffigan, Adam Devine, Demetri Martin, Tig Notaro, and Bill Burr's latest "Walk Your Way Out."In the commercial world, Jay has directed spots for brands including Ford, Target, Coke Zero, and Fandango, as well as promo campaigns for ABC, Disney, E!, A&E, and TBS, including Conan's launch campaigns and the viral "Desk Wash" spot.Jay grew up in Maryland, Virginia, and Connecticut before migrating west and graduating from USC. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Monica, their son Leo, and a dog named Rosie.

jaykaras.com