James is a multi award-winning writer/director and showrunner of comedy and drama in Ireland and the UK.

Most recently, he directed and co-wrote the drama Did You Read About Erskine Fogarty?, a critically acclaimed Storyland adaptation of a Blindboy story starring Robert Sheehan. It won the 2025 RTS Audience Choice Award, one of three programmes he directed that were nominated this year.

He is responsible for the two biggest sketch shows of the decade in Ireland. Republic of Telly ran for 8 years, developing a new generation of Irish talent, racking up hundreds of millions of views online, winning IFTAs and spinning off several other successful series. He also execs, directs and co-writes the many TV incarnations of RTS winning Callan’s Kicks. He also created No Worries If Not! A viral sketch-show for Gen Z, which just finished its second season, and is running up Republic of Telly style viral numbers.

Outside of sketch comedy, he works frequently in experimental and emerging forms of narrative. He directed and co-wrote the critically adored Zen Motoring for BBC Comedy. It won the Broadcast Award for Best Short-Form Scripted Series, and was described by The Guardian as “ transcendentally good” and “a gift from heaven,” which was nice, if a bit much.

His genre-bending collaborations with Blindboy have continued for more than a decade across the BBC and RTE, including the Broadcast nominated Blindboy Undestroys, RTS and Sanford nominated Blindboy: The Land of Slaves and Scholars, and the aforementioned Did You Hear About Erskine Fogarty? They are currently adapting an anthology of Blindboy stories for the screen.

He is deeply unfunny in real life.