Ben Karlin

Ben Karlin (born c. 1971) is an American television producer and writer. He has won eight Emmy awards and is best known for his work in The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report. He is one of three co-creators of The Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart. Karlin left Comedy Central in December 2006. He has also been a writer for the TV show Modern Family.

Karlin was tapped to serve as writer, producer, and showrunner of a new TV series set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe titled Damage Control, based on the Marvel Comics team with the same name. ABC Network ordered the series for consideration in 2017 but not picked up.

His book, released in February 2008, is a collection of essays entitled Things I've Learned From Women Who've Dumped Me. It contains essays by Andy Richter, Will Forte, David Wain, Stephen Colbert, Patton Oswalt, Bob Odenkirk, and many others. Karlin is also the co-editor of America (The Book) alongside Jon Stewart and David Javerbaum. He wrote for Space Ghost: Coast to Coast and The Onion from 1993-1996.

Ben Karlin was born and raised in Needham, Massachusetts. He is an alumnus of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he majored in journalism and served as a reporter at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. At The Onion, Karlin is credited with coining the term "Area Man." After leaving The Onion, he moved to Los Angeles and worked as a script doctor for movies, including Ice Age, Monkeybone, and Titan A.E.

In his post-The Daily Show life, Karlin filed a lawsuit against Frappe Inc. for backing out of a book contract connected to a TV show hosted by Mario Batali and Gwyneth Paltrow. In a counter-complaint filed on behalf of Frappe, Inc., e-mails are revealed as court evidence that Ben Karlin is self-described as an “asshole” and “difficult.” Additionally, Karlin has been involved in public conflicts with creative peers/partners, such as Benjamin Wallace, over ownership of production rights to a wine-fraud-related movie.

In August 2007, Karlin signed a deal with HBO to produce series, specials, and telematics under the banner of Picturehouse and Karlin's own company, Superego Industries. In December 2008 it was revealed that SuperEgo Industries was the company behind WonderGlen, a comedy website purporting to be the company intranet for an eccentric group of Los Angeles TV and film producers.