Lauren Corrao, evp, original programming and development, Comedy Central, announced the network's 2007 and 2008 development slate, which includes an animated project by Larry the Cable Guy.
Projects in development run the gamut from short-form and sketch/variety to scripted narrative and animation starring a cross-section of top comedic talent such as Lewis Black, David Alan Grier, Michael Ian Black, T. Sean Shannon, Larry the Cable Guy and JoKoy and feature top producers including Jamie Tarses, Robert Morton, Max Brooks, Scott Carter and David Sacks, and Jim Biederman.
Descriptions of all pilot pick-ups and presentation deals follow:
Pilots (all titles listed are working titles):
LARRY THE CABLE GUY is an animated project created and written by Larry the Cable Guy, Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow. This animated half-hour stars Larry the Cable Guy as a misguided, but well-intentioned co-owner of a cable TV station. The station's other owner is a woman of class and taste who does not share his vision for programming. The pilot will be exec produced by Larry the Cable Guy, J.P. Williams, Cohen and Sokolow.
NIGHT WRITER is a short-form comedy from former SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE headwriter, T. Sean Shannon. The show includes live-action sketches, animation shorts and voice-over stills and centers around a show writer in the midst of writing with the events occurring in realtime. His distinct point-of-view sets up the comedy while various characters react to the sketches as they unfold. The comedy is inspired by Shannon's books, BIG BUSINESS, COUGH IT UP and BUM LOVE.
HELD UP is a half-hour narrative in which a bored bank teller's life changes dramatically when two teams of crazy robbers -- disguised as James Bond, Spiderman, Batman and Larry, Curly and Mo -- hold up his branch. The main characters are held hostage for the entire arc of the series and fall victim to the comedic version of The Stockholm Syndrome. HELD UP is exec produced by Jamie Tarses, Alan Freedland, Alan Cohen and Gene Hong.
Michael Ian Black Doesn't Understand is a sketch show hosted by Black (THE STATE, STELLA) that examines one hot button topic each week and provides comedic commentary on it through a combination of field and studio pieces. The pilot is exec produced by Black and Jim Biederman (THE KIDS IN THE HALL, THE HOWARD STERN RADIO SHOW). Michael Showalter (Stella) will co-exec produce with Ted Schachter, serving as producer.
ROOT OF ALL EVIL is a faux courtroom pilot that pits two people or topics against each other in a courtroom setting presided over by Lewis Black (THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART), with a rotating group of comedians arguing that their client is the root of all evil. Examples of topics to be litigated are Paris Hilton vs. Dick Cheney and chick flicks vs. videogames. Root of All Evil is exec produced by Scott Carter (POLITICALLY INCORRECT, REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER) and David Sacks (THE SIMPSONS, THIRD ROCK FROM THE SUN).
Presentation Deals:
The JOKOY PROJECT will feature animation, sketch and stand-up which will star JoKoy at the center of a racially diverse ensemble cast. JoKoy will exec produce and Jamie Masada will produce.
DAVID ALLEN GRIER'S CHOCOLATE NEWS is a fake magazine show that covers inherently urban pop culture topics. The correspondents will double as sketch players. Hosted by IN LIVING COLOR alum and Tony Award nominee, David Alan Grier and exec produced by Grier (LITTLE MAN), Robert Morton (MIND OF MENCIA) and Generate's Peter Aronson and Jordon Levin.
THE WATCH LIST is a sketch/variety show that features material from some of the funniest up-and-coming Middle Eastern/American comedians. The show fuses a unique worldview with political satire to create edgy, intelligent, race-based comedy. Stand-up comic Dean Obeidallah (co-founder of the Arab-American Comedy Festival) and Emmy-winning writer Max Brooks (SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE) are the series' creators and producers. Having originally premiered as an original series on comedycentral.com, THE WATCH LIST is first broadband series that Comedy Central has taken to pilot for a potential slot on the network's linear lineup.
"We've secured a strong, versatile slate of new projects that we feel will resonate with our core viewers," said Corrao. "We've been on a great run and are looking to continue our success with more original, creative and provocative programming in the coming year."
Comedy Central (www.comedycentral.com), the only all-comedy network, currently is seen in more than 90 million homes nationwide. Comedy Central is owned by, and is a registered trademark of, Comedy Partners, a wholly-owned division of Viacom Inc.'s MTV Networks.
