John Wilson

John Wilson is an American documentary filmmaker. He is the creator of How To with John Wilson, an American comedy television docuseries on HBO.

Wilson was born in Astoria, Queens, and grew up on Long Island. He became interested in film as a teenager when his dad gave him a movie camera. Wilson cites Les Blank, George Kuchar and Bruce Brown as influences.

Shortly after graduating high school, John completed a feature film called Jingle Berry.

While attending Binghamton University, he made a short documentary about a balloon fetish community called Looner.

In 2008, after graduating from college, Wilson worked for a private investigator. He has said this experience influenced his focus on the people and places of everyday life.

In 2015, Wilson was asked to go on tour with David Byrne to make an original film about his performance. Titled Temporary Color, it is described as a "true crime concert doc about David Byrne and a pair of violent criminals." The following year, Vimeo asked Wilson to make an official documentary about the Sundance Film Festival. These works caught the attention of comedian and writer Nathan Fielder, and the two eventually started collaborating after meeting in 2018.

In October 2020, How To with John Wilson premiered on HBO. The show is executive produced by Nathan Fielder, Michael Koman and Clark Reinking. On December 9, 2020, HBO ordered a second season, to premiere in 2021.