Carvell stumbled into a comedy career "by accident".[1] He heard about an opening on the TV comedy seriesThe 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 thatJon 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 the2004 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 sixEmmy Awards between 2004 and 2012.[1]
Since 2005, he has written the "Planet Tad" column forMad magazine.[7] In 2012, he wrote a book based on the column, also calledPlanet Tad.[8] In 2014, Carvell followedJohn Oliver to his newHBO seriesLast Week Tonight with John Oliver, where he serves as showrunner for the series.[9]
Tim Carvell is a native ofBloomfield Hills, a suburb ofDetroit. He enteredColumbia University in 1991, majoring in history. While there, he wrote news and features forSpectator 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]
