---
name: "Jonathan Krisel"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/jonathan-krisel"
fi1m_id: "jonathan-krisel"
imdb_id: "nm1730037"
tmdb_id: 212431
wikidata_id: "Q23761654"
roles: ["Director"]
born: "4 January 1979"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 65
average_as: "director"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-10-01T00:15:48.045755+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Jonathan Krisel

## Identity

Jonathan Krisel

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/jonathan-krisel
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** jonathan-krisel
- **IMDb ID:** nm1730037
- **TMDB ID:** 212431
- **Wikidata ID:** Q23761654
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Krisel, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q23761654, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1730037/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/212431

Director. Born 4 January 1979 in United States.

## Details

- **Work:** Director
- **Born:** 4 January 1979, United States
- **Active:** 2024–present
- **Also known as:** 조나단 크리셀
- **Frequently works with:** [Anu Valia](https://film.one/person/anu-valia.md), [Jake Bender](https://film.one/person/jake-bender.md), [Oz Rodriguez](https://film.one/person/oz-rodriguez.md), [Zach Dunn](https://film.one/person/zach-dunn.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 65, as director, over 2 titles
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Krisel, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q23761654, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1730037/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/212431

## Streaming the US now

- **Disney+:** [*English Teacher*](https://film.one/tv/english-teacher.md) (73)
- **HBO Max:** [*Rooster*](https://film.one/tv/rooster.md) (57)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Jonathan Krisel

> Jonathan Krisel treats peculiar behaviour with a straight face and gives comic actors room to work. We rate that restraint, but *Rooster* is a reminder that appealing performers still need sharper writing.

Steve Carell's awkwardness gives *Rooster* (2026) its strongest reason to keep watching. We warmed to him because he remains appealing when the jokes around him are familiar. Jonathan Krisel prefers to build a comedy around what its actors can do, leaving them room rather than imposing a conspicuous visual style. We value that patience. But this campus comedy also exposes a limit: its leading man cannot do all the work of an underwritten father-daughter relationship.

Krisel's early work with Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim took him through animation, producing and editing before directing. *Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job* (2007) helped establish that collaborative way of working with experimental comedy. With *Portlandia* (2011), which he co-created and largely directed, the emphasis was on character-led satire. His loose, improvised framework treats sketches with the naturalistic pacing of independent film. The useful part is his willingness to take mundane behaviour seriously and give performers time to find what is funny about it.

*Baskets* (2016), which he co-created with Zach Galifianakis, brought clown performance and family drama together. As its primary director, Krisel made room for emotional scenes alongside absurd comedy, a combination well suited to his preference for treating strange behaviour matter-of-factly. His attention to performers gives that approach a practical basis: the actor has space to find something beyond the written joke. We are more interested in those decisions about pace and performance than in a recognisable set of camera tricks.

In *Rooster*, created by Bill Lawrence and Matt Tarses, Krisel directs within somebody else's series. The cast give Carell good company, but we found too little in the central relationship to make the familiar humour worth recommending. Those are problems with the writing, and it would be unfair to assign them all to a director of individual episodes. His presence is not a reason to overlook them, either. Try it for Carell if his awkwardness appeals; keep expectations for the family story modest.

## Biography

Jonathan Krisel (born 4 January 1979) is an American director, producer, writer and editor. He began working with the comedy duo Tim & Eric on *Tom Goes to the Mayor* and later directed episodes of *Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!* and *Check It Out! with Dr. Steve Brule*.

Krisel co-created the IFC sketch series *Portlandia* (2011–2018), directing and co-writing the majority of its episodes. He co-created the FX series *Baskets* (2016–2019) with Louis C.K. and Zach Galifianakis, serving as executive producer and primary director. His other directing credits include episodes of *Kroll Show*, *Man Seeking Woman*, *Ghosted*, *Moonbase 8*, *English Teacher* and *Rooster* (2026). He is the grandson of child actress Virginia Weidler.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *Rooster* (2026), Fi1m 57, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/rooster.md)
- *English Teacher* (2024), Fi1m 73, Executive Producer, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/english-teacher.md)

## Complete filmography (30)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Rooster* (2026), series, Director — Fi1m 57, [page](https://film.one/tv/rooster.md)
- *Adults* (2025), series, as Russ · Executive Producer, Director
- *English Teacher* (2024), series, Executive Producer, Director — Fi1m 73, [page](https://film.one/tv/english-teacher.md)
- *Sarah Silverman: Someone You Love* (2023), Director, Executive Producer
- *John Bronco Rides Again* (2021), Director
- *Moonbase 8* (2020), series, Executive Producer, Director, Writer, Creator
- *Sarah Cooper: Everything's Fine* (2020), Thanks
- *Ghosted* (2017), series, Executive Producer, Director
- *Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job! Awesome 10 Year Anniversary Version, Great Job?* (2017), Writer
- *Baskets* (2016), series, Writer, Director, Creator
- *Kroll Show* (2013), series, Director
- *Brunch Village* (2012), Director, Writer
- *Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie* (2012), as Additional Writing
- *Inside Portlandia* (2011), Executive Producer, Writer
- *Portlandia* (2011), series, Writer, Co-Executive Producer, Executive Producer, Director, Creator
- *Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! Chrimbus Special* (2010), Writer
- *Check It Out! with Dr. Steve Brule* (2010), series, Director
- *Skott & Behr* (2010), Co-Executive Producer
- *Magical Balloon* (2010), Executive Producer, Director, Writer
- *Just 3 Boyz* (2010), Co-Executive Producer
- *Father and Son* (2010), Editor, Co-Executive Producer
- *The New Big Ball with Neil Hamburger* (2010), Writer, Editor
- *Funny or Die Presents* (2010), series, Co-Producer, Director, Co-Executive Producer, Writer
- *Gettin' it Dunn with Richard Dunn* (2009), Editor, Co-Executive Producer
- *Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!* (2007), series, Writer, Editor, Director
- *Tom Goes to the Mayor* (2004), series, Director, Editor, Producer
- *Everyday Parenting Tips*, Director
- *She's Fine*, series, Director, Executive Producer
- *Hey Bear*, Director
- *Maitreya*, Director

## Gallery

- ![Jonathan Krisel](https://film.one/media/person/22587/gallery-68080dd850ab.jpg) Jonathan Krisel — Peabody Awards, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Jonathan_Krisel_%287269115462%29_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![PHOTO CREDIT: ANDERS KRUSBERG / PEABODY AWARDS Jonathan Krisel, Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein and Lorne Michaels 71st Annual Peabody Awards Luncheon Waldorf=A (2012)](https://film.one/media/person/22587/gallery-5c6242f64161.jpg) PHOTO CREDIT: ANDERS KRUSBERG / PEABODY AWARDS Jonathan Krisel, Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein and Lorne Michaels 71st Annual Peabody Awards Luncheon Waldorf=A (2012) — Peabody Awards, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/be/Jonathan_Krisel%2C_Fred_Armisen%2C_Carrie_Brownstein_and_Lorne_Michaels%2C_May_2012_%281%29.jpg/1280px-Jonathan_Krisel%2C_Fred_Armisen%2C_Carrie_Brownstein_and_Lorne_Michaels%2C_May_2012_%281%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![PHOTO CREDIT: ANDERS KRUSBERG / PEABODY AWARDS Jonathan Krisel, Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein and Lorne Michaels 71st Annual Peabody Awards Luncheon Waldorf=A (2012)](https://film.one/media/person/22587/gallery-82e5648ea153.jpg) PHOTO CREDIT: ANDERS KRUSBERG / PEABODY AWARDS Jonathan Krisel, Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein and Lorne Michaels 71st Annual Peabody Awards Luncheon Waldorf=A (2012) — Peabody Awards, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/Jonathan_Krisel%2C_Fred_Armisen%2C_Carrie_Brownstein_and_Lorne_Michaels%2C_May_2012_%282%29.jpg/1280px-Jonathan_Krisel%2C_Fred_Armisen%2C_Carrie_Brownstein_and_Lorne_Michaels%2C_May_2012_%282%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![PHOTO CREDIT: ANDERS KRUSBERG / PEABODY AWARDS Jonathan Krisel, Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein and Lorne Michaels 71st Annual Peabody Awards Luncheon Waldorf=A (2012)](https://film.one/media/person/22587/gallery-35ec8b273750.jpg) PHOTO CREDIT: ANDERS KRUSBERG / PEABODY AWARDS Jonathan Krisel, Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein and Lorne Michaels 71st Annual Peabody Awards Luncheon Waldorf=A (2012) — Peabody Awards, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Jonathan_Krisel%2C_Fred_Armisen%2C_Carrie_Brownstein_and_Lorne_Michaels%2C_May_2012_%283%29.jpg/1280px-Jonathan_Krisel%2C_Fred_Armisen%2C_Carrie_Brownstein_and_Lorne_Michaels%2C_May_2012_%283%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![PHOTO CREDIT: ANDERS KRUSBERG / PEABODY AWARDS Jonathan Krisel, Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein and Lorne Michaels 71st Annual Peabody Awards Luncheon Waldorf=A (2012)](https://film.one/media/person/22587/gallery-8eafd8fe7262.jpg) PHOTO CREDIT: ANDERS KRUSBERG / PEABODY AWARDS Jonathan Krisel, Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein and Lorne Michaels 71st Annual Peabody Awards Luncheon Waldorf=A (2012) — Peabody Awards, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fd/Jonathan_Krisel%2C_Fred_Armisen%2C_Carrie_Brownstein_and_Lorne_Michaels%2C_May_2012_%284%29.jpg/1280px-Jonathan_Krisel%2C_Fred_Armisen%2C_Carrie_Brownstein_and_Lorne_Michaels%2C_May_2012_%284%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![PHOTO CREDIT: ANDERS KRUSBERG / PEABODY AWARDS Jonathan Krisel, Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein and Lorne Michaels 71st Annual Peabody Awards Luncheon Waldorf=A (2012)](https://film.one/media/person/22587/gallery-fb4b2c1cd8ec.jpg) PHOTO CREDIT: ANDERS KRUSBERG / PEABODY AWARDS Jonathan Krisel, Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein and Lorne Michaels 71st Annual Peabody Awards Luncheon Waldorf=A (2012) — Peabody Awards, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6f/Jonathan_Krisel%2C_Fred_Armisen%2C_Carrie_Brownstein_and_Lorne_Michaels%2C_May_2012_%285%29.jpg/1280px-Jonathan_Krisel%2C_Fred_Armisen%2C_Carrie_Brownstein_and_Lorne_Michaels%2C_May_2012_%285%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/jonathan-krisel