Carol Ray Hartsell

I'm a director, writer, producer, editor, creative leader and two-time Emmy loser based in New York City. My current project "That's A Lot," a 14 episode micro comedy series, can be seen on social media at @thatsalotshow (insta, tiktok, etc).

I am currently the Director of Video Production for Super Awesome Friends, an award-winning social-first marketing agency that creates groundbreaking integrated campaigns for Broadway, Off-Broadway and other artists and brands.

My comedy/life partner Sean Crespo and I co-wrote the 2026 film "Influenced" with Jill Kargman, starring David Krumholtz, Eugene Cordero, Justin Bartha and Jenny Mollen. We're currently shopping our next screenplay, "Divorce Cruise," developing a science-comedy show starring astrophysicist Dr. Moiya McTier, and our pilot “Pro-Tem” was a semifinalist in the Golden Script Competition and a Second Rounder in the LaunchPad Pilot Competition. I made my feature film directing debut with the indie romcom “Love…Reconsidered” starring Sophie Von Haselberg, Colton Haynes and Javier Muñoz. It was released in February 2024 by Good Deed Entertainment and you can watch it on Amazon!

Previously, I was the Senior Field Producer on Jimmy Fallon’s “The Kids Tonight Show,” the Supervising Producer for Amazon’s “Prime Rewind: Inside The Boys,” the head writer on NBC pilot “The Whenever Show” starring Franchesca Ramsey and the creative lead behind “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee’s” award-winning digital team. I got my start in late night as the Digital Producer at “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” where I innovated their live-streaming content and wrote sketches for Adam McKay and Guillermo del Toro among others.

Before moving to television, I was the Senior Comedy Editor of Huffington Post, launched the original comedy site Internet Action Force, and was the head writer and founder of Drink At Work.com. I also contributed to The Onion and Someecards, and wrote for “Viewpoint with John Fugelsang,” “The Roast of Anthony Bourdain” and wrote and performed in the Off-Broadway show "Shoot the Messenger" alongside Lizz Winstead.

I began my career in New York as a marketing art director and graphic designer with magazines like This Old House, Field & Stream and Business Week.