Comedy Central Announces New Shows for '05

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Pilots from Norm MacDonald, Jamie Kennedy & more.

November 16, 2004 - Comedy Central has been on quite a roll lately. South Park continues to be one of the highest rated comedy series on cable and The Daily Show, once a time filler that was little more than an excuse for Craig Kilborn to further hone the snide attitude he developed on ESPN, has become a highly rated and critically respected news commentary program. Add the success of Colin Quinn's Tough Crowd and daring experiment, Secret Stash and you've got a year that shows the comedy cable channel has finally come into its own.


Comedy Central is eager to capitalize on their success, as evidenced by a press release today that announced several new pilots for the network. "In comedy, timing is everything and, after coming off such a great year, now is the time for us to invest in more original programming" said Lauren Corrao, senior vice president, original programming and head of development for Comedy Central, "We're thrilled to be able to attract the diverse A-list talent and producers that these pilots represent."

The list is certainly impressive. The projects announced today include a movie version of Insomniac wandering drunk Dave Attell's stage show and deals with former Saturday Night Live performer Norm Macdonald & Jamie Kennedy for projects that they would produce and star in. Macdonald is returning to sketch comedy while Kennedy is exploring stereotypes and social expectations in a series that sounds a lot like his old WB series, The Jamie Kennedy Experiment, with a social conscience.

The other pilots all sound intriguing but the obvious standout is a satire of the Hollywood news programs like Extra, Entertainment Tonight and Access Hollywood that features Daily Show correspondent Brian Unger. The Hollywood Show is one of two pilots that skewers the entertainment beat (the other is a pilot called Gone Hollywood featuring Tough Crowd regular Greg Giraldo) but with the obvious Daily Show connections, Hollywood Show could become an obvious companion to TDS.

Here's a list of all the projects announced by Comedy Central today. All titles are working titles and are subject to change. The descriptions are straight from the Comedy Central hype-bot 2.0:

TALENT DEALS

Norm Macdonald – Premise: Macdonald brings his unique brand of comedy to what promises to be a "completely different" sketch show experience. Macdonald will star and serve as executive producer.

Jamie Kennedy – premise: Kennedy tests people's stereotypes and social expectations, often going undercover to prove his point in this half-hour show. Kennedy and Josh Etting will executive produce.

MOVIE DEAL

Untitled Dave Attell Movie – In the spirit of Blue Collar Comedy Tour and The Original Kings of Comedy, this Comedy Central Films original will feature Attell and his friends on tour.

PILOTS

Gone Hollywood – Hosted by Greg Giraldo (Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn), Gone Hollywood will skewer Hollywood itself by using actual footage, clips and on-location field pieces, along with celebrity guests. Hugh Fink, Gavin Polone and Vivian Cannon (Pariah Television) are executive producers, and Giraldo is a co-executive producer.

The Hollywood Show – Brian Unger (The Daily Show, NPR's Day to Day), hosts and serves as executive producer of a show that turns your friendly neighborhood nightly entertainment magazine show inside out. The Hollywood Show is a topical parody of show business, pop culture and entertainment stories featuring celebrity interviews, man-on-the-street reporting and actual movie, TV and paparazzi footage. Heidi Clements also serves as executive producer.

Stella – Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter and David Wain write and star in this live-action, scripted adaptation of their popular stage show. Black, Showalter and Wain are also executive producers.

Take It to the Bitch House – Comedienne Sommore plays the role of judge and jury "out in the streets" in a series of disputes focusing on relatable, real-life problems that are too petty, even for small claims court. Take It to the Bitch House will be executive produced by Reveille Entertainment, Ben Silverman, Steven Greener and Patrick Byrnes and co-executive produced and directed by Rusty Cundieff.

Con – Skylar Stone uses his smarts and creativity to con his way through life doing and getting whatever he wants. Rick DeOlivera (Making The Band, Real World, Road Rules) and Stone, along with Matt Sloan and Chris Cox serve as executive producers; and Chris Bender and JC Spink serve as co-executive producers.

Happy Game Fun Bomb – hosted by Patton Oswalt and Brian Posehn, this series features a group of comedian gamers who play video games against a satellite group of real gamers from cities around the country. The show also covers the latest and greatest from the gamer/nerd/geek lifestyle. The video game project will be executive produced by Rob Cohen (Jamie Kennedy Experiment, Just Shoot Me).




November 6th, 2012: Americas new Independence Day.