CHRIS HARNICK
When he was growing up, Chris Harnick watched so much TV that his parents tried to limit him to an hour of it a week. Look what they created.
As a skilled entertainment writer and editor working for publications such as AOL, HuffPost and E! News covering the world of television for print and broadcast, Chris achieved nearly all of his bucket list interviews. After more than a decade interviewing and breaking news, Chris joined HBO's creative marketing team in 2020, where he worked on the marketing campaigns for a variety of titles including Pretty Little Liars: Summer School, Westworld and The Last of Us. In 2023, he was nominated for Primetime Emmy for his work on The Last of Us.
While working as a journalist, Chris, a skilled interviewer, developed key relationships with talent and creators, allowing for access and coverage opportunities for show such as Law & Order: SVU, Schitt’s Creek, The Good Place and The Good Wife. Thanks to his coverage of SVU, Chris accomplished the dream of viewers everywhere: Appearing on the series multiple times as a reporter.
Now, Chris uses the prowess for speaking to consumers he honed covering TV in his marketing work. In addition to his award-winning work on The Last of Us, Chris has brought his creative expertise and original ideas to a number of projects, including TINA (launching a social stunt that has been replicated several times), Turtles All the Way Down, The Undoing, We’re Here, Insecure (pitching and executing a super-sized series finale Wine Down), A Black Lady Sketch Show, George Carlin’s American Dream, The Other Two, The Idol, The Gilded Age and more.
marketer. writer. CREATOR.
THE LAST OF US
Utilizing his digital content development expertise, Chris was responsible for overseeing the creation of all the bonus assets, including The Last of Us - Inside the Episode. In 2023, Chris received a Primetime Emmy nomination for his work as the supervising producer on the series in the Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction or Reality Series category. Additionally, Chris oversaw the promotions, e-tech and experiential tracks for the project, managing the creation of immersive events in Brazil at CCXP and New York when the Angelika Film Center was transformed into a Firefly base from the series. While advising on key details, like era and show-specific posters for the theater, Chris also scripted in-world dialogue for the brand ambassadors working as Firefly members. Calling on his past experience interviewing and interacting with talent, Chris was responsible for a number of social content capture moments, including the series premiere red carpet and CCXP, where he spent the day with series star Merle Dandridge for “A Day in the Life” social content, offering fans a unique experience.
PRETTY LITTLE LIARS: SUMMER SCHOOL
As the creative lead on Pretty Little Liars: Summer School, Chris touched every facet of the campaign. After establishing the overall creative narrative and campaign wrapper, Chris’s work included creative directing the key art photo shoot, which produced two pieces of main art and five character posters; managing the creation of the art; developing the social tone of voice and strategy for the more than 12 million followers cross-platform followers; creating the bespoke social media concepts and copy; managing AV asset creation; stakeholder comms and much more.
SELECT KEY ART WORK
WESTWORLD
In addition to managing the cross platform social presence for Westworld’s fourth and final season, Chris spearheaded the experiential for the subversive marketing campaign. Invoking the season’s blurred lines between worlds, Westworld infiltrated our world in unique ways. The campaign began with a social stunt involving a mysterious photo on a local New York media outlet’s Instagram and moved to the physical world when Westworld’s New York broke through in Austin for the ATX TV Festival with a coffee stand that prompted visitors to question the nature of their reality. Ahead of premiere, the action moved to New York City where the coffee stand was joined by other equally puzzling vendors, mysterious fixtures and sounds, roaming Drone Hosts from the series and a special dance performance taking over the High Line.
THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE
From the key art to social content, Chris developed all of the creative marketing materials around The Time Traveler’s Wife. Starring Rose Leslie and Theo James, the adaptation came with challenges: a previous film version and new thinking around certain plot points. Keen to open the project up to various audience segments, the art was done to focus on the strength of Rose Leslie’s character and social content was designed to spotlight the chemistry between the two leads.
EDITORIAL CLIPS & APPERANCES
The Second Act of Kristen Bell
An in-depth profile on how the Veronica Mars star pivoted to The Good Place. The first in an interview series that also featured the likes of Niecy Nash and Jean Smart.
Kristen Bell’s Next Act After The Good Place? Being Herself
The sequel to The Second Act of Kristen Bell.
It’s Little Voice, Big Year for Sara Bareilles
A feature on Sara Bareilles’ 2020, which included a Grammy win, West End debut and creating a TV show.
Why Mariska Hargitay Never Shied Away From Being Forever Associated With SVU's Olivia Benson
One of dozens of interviews Chris conducted with Mariska Hargitay over his 11+ years covering the series.
When You Become Part of TV History: A Law & Order: SVU Story
In 2019, Chris had a role in the history-making season 21 premiere of Law & Order: SVU.
How Dan Levy Created a Safe Haven With Schitt's Creek (And Why He's Saying Goodbye)
An early champion of the series, Chris did a number of profile features on the acclaimed leads, including Annie Murphy and Catherine O’Hara.
Mulder, Scully and Me: On Set as The X-Files Returns for a New Generation
Chris’ firsthand account of being on set of a beloved series’ revival.
While at E! News and HuffPost, Chris routinely moderated panels, while also lending his TV expertise to programs such as All In with Chris Hayes, Today, Entertainment Tonight and Michaela.