Hellmuth Karasek (4 January 1934 – 29 September 2015) was a German journalist, literary critic and novelist. He wrote over 25 books on literature and movies. He was well known for being on the panel of the show "Das Literarische Quartett", with Marcel Reich-Ranicki. In 1968, he became the theatre critic of "Die Zeit". From 1974 until 1996, he worked for "Der Spiegel". In 1999, he was a member of the jury at the 49th Berlin International Film Festival.