Tess Paras is an actress, writer, and director with an extensive background in shorts and musical comedy. She recently starred opposite comedian Jo Koy in the 2022 comedy pilot JOSEP for ABC. She is currently in post-production for “Perry And A Pause” a short film she wrote and directed.
Tess heavily recurred on the family comedy JUST ADD MAGIC (Amazon), and was upped to series regular on its Daytime Emmy-nominated spinoff JUST ADD MAGIC: MYSTERY CITY. She spent years performing musical theater and is most recognized for her recurring role as Jayma Chan-Epstein on the Emmy Award-winning musical comedy CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND. Tess stars in THE BLACKOUT, a fully-improvised indie dramedy feature released in 2021 (Gravitas Ventures).
Previously, Tess wrote and produced multiple political comedy sketches that amassed millions of views for F-Comedy, the digital studio of the Fusion Cable Network.
Tess directed the 2022 ViacomCBS SHOWCASE, an hour-long digital streaming sketch variety show. Recognized as the industry leader in actor showcases designed to highlight diverse talent, Tess was the showcase’s first Asian American director and is an alumni of the program. As a two-time director, EP, and Co-Showrunner of the Showcase, Tess led its transition from a stage production to a fully-produced hourlong, award-winning digital sketch variety show.
Her shorts and music videos have screened at multiple festivals, including The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, Micheaux Film Festival, Bend Film, Houston Comedy, Boston Asian American Film Festival, Dances With Films, and OutFest. Most recently, Tess directed A NEW YOU, a queer horror comedy short film now airing on The Roku Channel.
