COMEDY CENTRAL LAUNCHES DIGITAL ORIGINALS CHANNEL ON YOUTUBE WITH A ROBUST DEVELOPMENT SLATE

• Comedy Central Digital Earned Over 5 Billion Views Across Platforms in 2018
• Emily Heller: Ice Thickeners Premieres March 8 Exclusively on Comedy Central’s Stand-Up Channel on YouTube, The Brand’s First-Ever Original One-Hour Special to Debut Exclusively via Digital

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NEW YORK, March 6, 2019 – Comedy Central continues to expand its digital footprint and deepen its engagement with fans with its latest launch – the Comedy Central Originals YouTube channel – a one-stop shop for the very best digital original comedy. In conjunction with the channel launch, the #1 brand in comedy also released a robust digital development slate that features new and returning series, pilots orders, stand-up and social content. The Comedy Central Originals channel comes on the heels of the brand’s recently launched Comedy Central Stand-Up channel on YouTube, which will premiere Emily Heller: Ice Thickeners on March 8. This will be the brand’s first original one-hour special to premiere exclusively on a digital platform.

The launch of the Comedy Central Originals channel further solidifies Comedy Central’s standing as the leading comedy brand in digital where this past year it garnered over 5 billion video views and close to 10 billion watch time minutes for its collective franchises across digital and social platforms. One of the flagship brands of Viacom Digital Studios, Comedy Central’s digital development slate taps into the brand’s rich history of identifying, developing and launching emerging talent who are creating super-funny, personally-relatable, culturally-relevant, and provocative short-form content that resonates across multiple platforms. The slate also features social-first video franchises created by Comedy Central’s in-house digital team.

“In addition to significantly growing our audience, a clear success this past year has been the establishment of Comedy Central’s digital in-house creators team and the implementation of our digital first production capabilities,” said Jen Danielson, SVP, Digital, Comedy Central. “The launch of the Comedy Central Originals channel on YouTube further expands our reach and provides our fans a one-stop destination to engage with best in class original content that is made for the platform, culturally relevant, personally relatable and most importantly – makes you laugh”

In addition to premiering on the Comedy Central Originals channel, the content will also roll out across the brand’s social platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, cc.com as well as the Comedy Central Stand Up channel on YouTube.

Information on the digital development slate follows:

Premieres

• Emily Heller: Ice Thickeners is a brilliant, bone-dry hour of comedy from one of the hottest writer-performers in the stand-up game. Taped live in Seattle and releasing on International Women’s Day, Heller serves up laconic takes on rudeness (in favor), fitness goals (against), and being her therapist’s favorite patient. And while she legally couldn’t keep men out of her audience, don’t think she didn’t try. The special is directed by Kulap Vilaysack, Molly Mandel is Executive Producer and Endeavor Content Non-Scripted is producing. Anne Harris and Gabriella Yacyk are Executives in Charge for Comedy Central. [Note: via the Comedy Central Stand-Up channel on YouTube]

• wellRED Comedy: A sketch series from the perspective of the real life millennials and progressives who grew up in the South – THEY DO EXIST! Through the situations and characters, they’ve encountered through their lives, the show parodies both small town America and biased coastal presumptions about what it means to be from Dixie. The series premiered on March 1.

• Comedians Solve World Problems: The world is in crisis. Do comedians have the answers? No. But watch four comics throw a couple of ideas out there and see what sticks. The weekly series will make debut on March 11. In addition to the US version, nine additional versions will roll out across Comedy Central International social and digital platforms in the following regions: Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Asia, GSA (Germany, Switzerland, Austria), France, Spain, Benelux (The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg), South Africa, Mexico and Brazil.

• Shane Torres Conquers Your Fears: Comedian Shane Torres (Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents) both hates fear and sincerely wants to help his comedian buddies be a little less scared in their lives. Through a series of absurd, yet very real immersion therapy steps, our good-willed guide slowly tests phobias and insecurities as he builds to an ultimate challenge that puts his guests’ bravery to the test. In season one Molly Austin (Comedy Central’s Up Next) confronts a live python, Petey DeAbreu (Comedy Central Stand-Up Featuring) gets a baby hedgehog ready for bedtime, and Casey James Salengo (Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents) faces the fearsome Gauntlet of Rejection. The series debuts on March 15.

• UNSEND: UNSEND ​celebrates the best and worst of the web: twitter moments, viral meltdowns, thirst traps, clapbacks, comment trolls, and more. Hosts Joel Kim-Booster (“Conan,” “The Other Two”) and Patti Harrison (“Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon,” “A Simple Favor”) cover everything from entertainment to sports, spotting trends and interviewing celebrities (Jimmy O. Yang, Esther Povitsky and more) about their own cringeworthy internet moments. UNSEND is created by Deanna Cheng (“Heathers”) and Matt McConkey (“Heathers” and the Homophilia podcast) and is produced by Paul Scheer (“The Disaster Artist,” “Black Monday”). The series will debut on March 19.

• My Least Favorite Thing: Zach Bornstein travels to meet a celebrity as they prepare to do the one thing they that hate doing more than all other things. While executing the task, viewers will learn what’s going on in the celebrity’s life, personally and professionally. Produced by Big Breakfast, the series will roll out on April 5.

Returning Series

• After Hours w/ Josh Horowitz: Welcome to the world of After Hours, where in each episode Josh Horowitz takes your favorite celebrities to places you never dreamed of. Featured celebs include Liam Hemsworth, Tiffany Haddish, James McAvoy, Benedict Cumberbatch, Anna Kendrick, Alexandra Daddario and many more. Upcoming episodes, including David Harbour, will roll out this spring.

• As Seen on CC: The products you didn’t know you needed and some you might want to avoid. As Seen On CC offers you a first look at the future of consumer goods. Current episodes are also available on the As Seen On CC Facebook Watch page.

• Comedy Central Stand Up Featuring (Season 2): This series spotlights a new up-and-coming comedian each Tuesday and Thursday weekly. In the spirit of linear predecessors Adam Devine’s House Party and Live at Gotham, the series features short sets from some of the comedy landscape’s best young voices. The second cycle was filmed at The Satellite in Los Angeles and features Kiry Shabazz, Vanessa Gonzalez, Ron Taylor, Brendan Scannell, Gavin Matts, Jordan Temple, Paige Weldon, Patti Harrison, Dave Ross, Chase Bernstein, Danny Jolles, Biniam Bizuneh and Barbara Gray. Season 2 premiered February 26 on Comedy Central Stand Up channel on YouTube, Facebook Watch, Twitter and Instagram.

• Dollar Store Therapist: A low-budget therapist (Connor Ratliff) works out of the back of a discount store, and his advice is about as useful as the merchandise piled around him. Current episodes: Self-Pleasure ft. Jessica Kirson and Nightmare Scenario ft. Casey James Salengo.

• Mini-Mocks: In the style of 60 Second Docs, Comedy Central takes a look at the lives of unique individuals. This series of short documentaries is a viral sensation that has generated over 160 million streams across Facebook, Instagram and YouTube with Gummy Animal Breeder tallying over 26 million views and BDSM Food Porn over 21 million views. The series has also been localized into 14 languages and featured around the world by Viacom Digital Studios International.

• Thank You, Goodnight: It’s not uncommon for a New York City comic to perform multiple shows per night and what happens on the way from one gig to the next might be even more ridiculous than what happens onstage. Thank You, Goodnight follows New York’s most exciting comics as they hustle from spot to spot throughout New York City. Season one comics included Joel Kim Booster, Yamaneika Saunders and Casey James Salengo. Season two features Emmy Blotnick, Tim Dillon and Nore Davis and debuts on March 11.

• That’s An App?: Parody commercials for the latest technological solutions for all our first world problems. Episodes include: Scat Scanner, OkOedipus, SinMo.

• The Foley Artist: This mini-doc series features lovable everyman Tim Duffy hard at work creating every sound effect on television. From the sensual kisses of The Bachelor to the sneaker squeaks of college basketball, his artistic mastery knows no bounds. Other episodes include: Die Hard and Bumblebee.

• You Didn’t Wanna Know: It ain’t pretty, but it’s true. Comedians explain things you “didn’t want to know” about common aspects of life in these PSA parodies. Episodes include: Bugs In Your Food ft. Jim Gaffigan and Turtles Have Salmonella ft. Ben Schwartz.

In Development

• Agree to Disagree: Comedians debate hot button issues like: “which is better — tots or onion rings?” They’ll try to keep it civil, but no promises.

• Mad Memes: Social Security is bankrupt, so if millennials want to retire, they must invest in memes. This high-energy show will tell you which memes are excellent investment opportunities, and which are merely worthless digital content.

• Sex Fails: Sex is funny. Sex gone wrong? The funniest. Comedians reveal their lowest sexual moments, while animators bring their stories to hideous, cringe-inducing life.

• Tales From the Trip: Comedians share their wildest psychedelic drug stories, as animators bring them to life with brain-melting visuals.

Comedy Central Digital, one of the flagship brands of Viacom Digital Studios, continues to expand its brand and deepen its engagement with fans. With its Global Podcast Network, the recent launches of the Comedy Central Originals and Stand-Up channels on YouTube along with it social first video franchises including Mini-Mocks and The Foley Artist, Comedy Central further solidifies its standing at the leading comedy brand in digital. This past year, the #1 brand in comedy garnered over 5 billion video views and close to 10 billion watch time minutes for its collective franchises across digital and social platforms.

Comedy Central gives audiences access to a world of super funny, personally relatable, culturally relevant, and provocative comedy that tells the funny truths of life, every day and everywhere. From award-winning late-night, scripted and animated series to stand-up specials, short-form and sketch, Comedy Central has it all. A subsidiary of Viacom Inc., Comedy Central is available to more than 300 million households in over 150 countries across the globe.