National Geographic Channel has set the creative team and correspondents for the return of “Explorer” this fall, both which TheWrap has learned exclusively. Lou Wallach, formerly of “The Colbert Report” and “The Talking Dead,” will executive produce the revamped format. Nick McKinney and Meghan O’Hara — creators of The IFC Media Project — will join him as EPs and showrunners. Bryan Christy, Ryan Duffy, Francesca Fiorentini, Jena Friedman, Justin Hall, Billie Mintz, Tania Rashid, Tim Samuels and Baratunde Thurston will serve as correspondents. As previously announced, studio host Richard Bacon (pictured above) will anchor the whole thing. Also Read: How Nat...
- 7/12/2016
- by Tony Maglio
- The Wrap
Seeso has renewed its popular original series The Ucb Show from Upright Citizens Brigade founders Amy Poehler, Matt Walsh, Ian Roberts and Matt Besser. Season 2 begins shooting today at the 18th Annual Del Close Improv Comedy Marathon in NYC. The Ucb Show is a weekly variety showcase for the best sketch, characters and stand-up homegrown at the Ucb Theatres in L.A. and NYC. Besser, Poehler, Roberts, and Walsh executive produce with Bart Coleman and Lou Wallach. In…...
- 6/24/2016
- Deadline TV
NBC is narrowing down the field for a potential new variety show. The network has passed on its variety sketch show starring Anchorman's David Koechner, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. The project, which had received a pilot order, would have marked Koechner's return to his sketch comedy roots. He started his career on NBC's Saturday Night Live and also had a recurring role on the network's adaptation of The Office. Photos: Faces of Pilot Season 2014 The untitled variety sketch show was created by Koechner, who would have starred in and executive produced the project alongside Lou Wallach and Brillstein
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- 4/16/2014
- by Lesley Goldberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: David Koechner, one of the stars of Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, which opens today, is returning to his sketch comedy roots as the star, creator and executive producer of a one-hour variety sketch show that has received a pilot order at NBC. Koechner, of course, started off on the biggest sketch/variety franchise on television, NBC’s Saturday Night Live, and also recurred on the network’s long-running comedy series The Office. Koechner will executive produce the pilot with Lou Wallach and Brillstein Entertainment Partners’ Alex Murray and Tim Sarkes. Universal TV’s Alternative Studio, where Wallach is under an overall deal, is producing. Under his pact, former Comedy Central executive-turned-producer Wallach had been looking to develop a sketch comedy. He reached out to Koechner, with whom he worked on the actor’s Web series Full On Koechner. Koechner had an idea for such a show, which the two pitched to NBC,...
- 12/18/2013
- by NELLIE ANDREEVA
- Deadline TV
A Grammy-nominated songstress has joined The Sing-Off.
Jewel has been tapped to replace Sara Bareilles as judge during the NBC a cappella competition’s winter cycle.
The recording artist — who also judged Bravo’s short-lived songwriting series Platinum Hit — will advise contestants alongside returning judges Shawn Stockman and Ben Folds. Nick Lachey is also slated to return as host.
Ready for more of today’s dish? Well…
• Ugly Betty alum Eric Mabius has landed the lead role in Dead Letters, a movie of the week/backdoor pilot for Hallmark Channel. Per The Hollywood Reporter, the project centers on a group...
Jewel has been tapped to replace Sara Bareilles as judge during the NBC a cappella competition’s winter cycle.
The recording artist — who also judged Bravo’s short-lived songwriting series Platinum Hit — will advise contestants alongside returning judges Shawn Stockman and Ben Folds. Nick Lachey is also slated to return as host.
Ready for more of today’s dish? Well…
• Ugly Betty alum Eric Mabius has landed the lead role in Dead Letters, a movie of the week/backdoor pilot for Hallmark Channel. Per The Hollywood Reporter, the project centers on a group...
- 7/2/2013
- by Megan Masters
- TVLine.com
NBC is looking for a few good sketch and improv comedians. The network is prepping an untitled sketch comedy project with former Comedy Central senior vp original programming Lou Wallach attached to executive produce, The Hollywood Reporter has learned exclusively. Photos: Broadcast TV's Returning Shows 2013-14 While it's still early in the development process, the network is slated to begin a multicity search for both new and veteran writer-performers on the stand-up, improv and sketch comedy circuits with the hopes of creating one flagship series. The concept, sources say, would be to build a franchise similar to
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- 7/1/2013
- by Lesley Goldberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Comedy Central executive-turned-producer Lou Wallach has signed an overall deal with Universal TV’s Alternative Studio. Under the pact, Wallach will develop, produce and consult on comedies of different formats, primarily for NBC but also possibly for other networks. Wallach most recently has been an independent producer and consultant. He executive produced Comedy Central’s Michael & Michael Have Issues, and BBC America’s Funny As Hell: UK and consulted for AMC, Comedy Central UK, Mtvx, Red Bull Media House and Just For Laughs Festival. Previously, he was Svp, Original Programming at Comedy Central where he oversaw Chappelle’s Show, The Colbert Report, Comedy Central Presents, Crank Yankers, and Insomniac with Dave Attell.
- 4/4/2013
- by NELLIE ANDREEVA
- Deadline TV
New York -- Comedy Central has greenlighted seven episodes of "Michael and Michael Have Issues," a comedy series starring Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter.
The show brings together Black and Showalter, who have been best friends and collaborators for 20 years. In this new series, they'll be the hosts of a sketch-show-within-a-show who are seen both on and behind the camera.
The show will premiere in July.
Black, Showalter, Jim Biederman and Lou Wallach are executive producers. Jim Sharp and Christina Lee are in charge of production at Comedy Central.
The show brings together Black and Showalter, who have been best friends and collaborators for 20 years. In this new series, they'll be the hosts of a sketch-show-within-a-show who are seen both on and behind the camera.
The show will premiere in July.
Black, Showalter, Jim Biederman and Lou Wallach are executive producers. Jim Sharp and Christina Lee are in charge of production at Comedy Central.
- 2/18/2009
- by By Paul J. Gough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Montreal -- The weak global economy did pop up a few times during this week's Just Comedy conference and Just for Laughs comedy festival here.
In at least one instance, economic trends served as a set-up for punchlines, while in others, TV insiders discussed the possible effect of a recession on consumers' appetite for comedy.
During a panel of comedy experts, for example, Kenton Allen, creative head, comedy and comedy North at the BBC, predicted a rebound of studio sitcoms with live audiences in the U.K. due to economic trends.
"Silly is back," and traditional sitcom orders seem on the rise, he said, pointing to the needs of TV audiences. "On the cusp of a recession, they will want things that are big and loud and funny," he added.
Lou Wallach, senior vp, original programming, television & digital development, Comedy Central, argued that his network does not see the kinds of economy-related ups-and-downs that broadcast networks may experience.
He said his focus is always -- no matter what economic trends may be -- on developing shows his core audience will enjoy and flock to.
Meanwhile, standup Billy Gardell in one bit suggested a solution to high gas prices and drunk driving -- bumper cars.
And Andy Kindler in his annual State of the Industry speech set up a punchline about the recent labor strife in Hollywood in the context of inflation and food shortages stemming from high food prices. "Gas is $500 a gallon (and) people are stabbing each other over rice in the supermarket," he said. With that in mind, fighting over details of a new labor pact is as if Hollywood said: "Stop stabbing yourselves over rice," Kindler said. "Do you know what's happening in digital media?"...
In at least one instance, economic trends served as a set-up for punchlines, while in others, TV insiders discussed the possible effect of a recession on consumers' appetite for comedy.
During a panel of comedy experts, for example, Kenton Allen, creative head, comedy and comedy North at the BBC, predicted a rebound of studio sitcoms with live audiences in the U.K. due to economic trends.
"Silly is back," and traditional sitcom orders seem on the rise, he said, pointing to the needs of TV audiences. "On the cusp of a recession, they will want things that are big and loud and funny," he added.
Lou Wallach, senior vp, original programming, television & digital development, Comedy Central, argued that his network does not see the kinds of economy-related ups-and-downs that broadcast networks may experience.
He said his focus is always -- no matter what economic trends may be -- on developing shows his core audience will enjoy and flock to.
Meanwhile, standup Billy Gardell in one bit suggested a solution to high gas prices and drunk driving -- bumper cars.
And Andy Kindler in his annual State of the Industry speech set up a punchline about the recent labor strife in Hollywood in the context of inflation and food shortages stemming from high food prices. "Gas is $500 a gallon (and) people are stabbing each other over rice in the supermarket," he said. With that in mind, fighting over details of a new labor pact is as if Hollywood said: "Stop stabbing yourselves over rice," Kindler said. "Do you know what's happening in digital media?"...
- 7/19/2008
- by By Georg Szalai
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Montreal -- The role of the Internet in today's comedy world was one key topic of debate on various panels here on the first day of the inaugural Just Comedy industry conference.
Comedy executives said the Web is a great addition to their arsenal when it comes to reaching fans, but making money remains a challenge.
"We won't turn our back on the traditional television development business," said Lou Wallach, senior vp, original programming, television and digital development for Comedy Central. "But (the Web is) a laboratory and opportunity to complement our development process."
Kenton Allen, creative head, comedy and comedy North, for the BBC said the U.K. broadcaster is open to moving comedic Web ideas to the TV screen, but feels no pressure to force things.
"It's ok to have stuff that works only on the Web," he said.
Confronted with the question of whether online content makes good money yet for their TV networks or will do so any time soon, many signaled there is no real money there yet.
"(The Web) is a bit of development, a bit of promotion and brand - and, I'd assume, no money," offered Anton Leo, creative head of TV comedy, TV arts & entertainment at the Cbc and Radio Canada. He explained though that he doesn't get too involved with such business issues on a daily basis.
Michelle Daly, director of content at Canada's The Comedy Network and TV Land: also said the industry is still in the early stages of exploring digital opportunities.
Cristian Cussen, director of content and marketing for MySpace TV, said user-generated content "absolutely plays," and there are select cases where people share such content.
But "monetizing them is tough," he argued.
It's somewhat easier to do content partnership deals with such brands as The Onion and then share advertising revenue that came in specifically due to this content, Cussen said.
However, "the economics right now are tough (for online content). It's a brand building opportunity and incubation opportunity."
Cheetos and Toyota Corolla are among sponsors of MySpace comedic content that Cussen mentioned.
Comedy executives said the Web is a great addition to their arsenal when it comes to reaching fans, but making money remains a challenge.
"We won't turn our back on the traditional television development business," said Lou Wallach, senior vp, original programming, television and digital development for Comedy Central. "But (the Web is) a laboratory and opportunity to complement our development process."
Kenton Allen, creative head, comedy and comedy North, for the BBC said the U.K. broadcaster is open to moving comedic Web ideas to the TV screen, but feels no pressure to force things.
"It's ok to have stuff that works only on the Web," he said.
Confronted with the question of whether online content makes good money yet for their TV networks or will do so any time soon, many signaled there is no real money there yet.
"(The Web) is a bit of development, a bit of promotion and brand - and, I'd assume, no money," offered Anton Leo, creative head of TV comedy, TV arts & entertainment at the Cbc and Radio Canada. He explained though that he doesn't get too involved with such business issues on a daily basis.
Michelle Daly, director of content at Canada's The Comedy Network and TV Land: also said the industry is still in the early stages of exploring digital opportunities.
Cristian Cussen, director of content and marketing for MySpace TV, said user-generated content "absolutely plays," and there are select cases where people share such content.
But "monetizing them is tough," he argued.
It's somewhat easier to do content partnership deals with such brands as The Onion and then share advertising revenue that came in specifically due to this content, Cussen said.
However, "the economics right now are tough (for online content). It's a brand building opportunity and incubation opportunity."
Cheetos and Toyota Corolla are among sponsors of MySpace comedic content that Cussen mentioned.
- 7/17/2008
- by By Georg Szalai
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Comedy Central continues to seek out innovative broadband content with the launch today of its second annual "Comedy Central Test Pilots".
The online competition, which is a collaboration with fellow MTVN Entertainment group property AtomFilms, calls for participants to upload their one- to five-minute submissions in the form of live action, animation, sketch and hidden camera. The winner will have the chance to receive $5,000, a potential online development deal with ComedyCentral.com and the chance for their creation to air on Comedy Central's late-night series "Web Shows".
" 'Comedy Central Test Pilots' evens out the playing field and lets anyone with a voice, video camera, computer and spark of creativity the opportunity to get their pilots on the desktops of our development executives," said Lou Wallach, Comedy Central senior vp original programming and development, who made the announcement.
Submissions will be accepted from June 1-July 10, with the first round of favorites to be featured on ComedyCentral.com and Atom Films.
The online competition, which is a collaboration with fellow MTVN Entertainment group property AtomFilms, calls for participants to upload their one- to five-minute submissions in the form of live action, animation, sketch and hidden camera. The winner will have the chance to receive $5,000, a potential online development deal with ComedyCentral.com and the chance for their creation to air on Comedy Central's late-night series "Web Shows".
" 'Comedy Central Test Pilots' evens out the playing field and lets anyone with a voice, video camera, computer and spark of creativity the opportunity to get their pilots on the desktops of our development executives," said Lou Wallach, Comedy Central senior vp original programming and development, who made the announcement.
Submissions will be accepted from June 1-July 10, with the first round of favorites to be featured on ComedyCentral.com and Atom Films.
- 5/15/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
School's in session at Comedy Central with today's launch of online classes devoted to the art of stand-up comedy.
"Crash Course in Comedy" features 10 broadband video classes designed and instructed by comedian Ted Alexandro ("Comedy Central Presents") that aim to engage and educate hopeful comics.
Alexandro will give users tips on stage presence, joke development and how to write humorous material while illustrating his points with clips from the Comedy Central archive featuring comedians like Dave Attell, Lewis Black and Greg Giraldo.
"By and large, it's a real opportunity to engage our audience in a two-way street," said Lou Wallach, senior vp original programming and development. "We can talk about and show stand-up and give our audience a chance to be proactively involved."
The site's comic curriculum allows users to build their own avatars and customize it through voice, clothes and accessories. Online users can use this virtual comedian to read their own recorded jokes aloud.
"Unlike traditional curriculums, 'Crash Course in Comedy' was created to give our students the tools to perform, act up and cause mass hysteria," Wallach quipped.
"Crash Course in Comedy" features 10 broadband video classes designed and instructed by comedian Ted Alexandro ("Comedy Central Presents") that aim to engage and educate hopeful comics.
Alexandro will give users tips on stage presence, joke development and how to write humorous material while illustrating his points with clips from the Comedy Central archive featuring comedians like Dave Attell, Lewis Black and Greg Giraldo.
"By and large, it's a real opportunity to engage our audience in a two-way street," said Lou Wallach, senior vp original programming and development. "We can talk about and show stand-up and give our audience a chance to be proactively involved."
The site's comic curriculum allows users to build their own avatars and customize it through voice, clothes and accessories. Online users can use this virtual comedian to read their own recorded jokes aloud.
"Unlike traditional curriculums, 'Crash Course in Comedy' was created to give our students the tools to perform, act up and cause mass hysteria," Wallach quipped.
In an about-face from the trend of distributing branded TV programming to the Internet, Comedy Central is bringing original Web programming to late-night television viewers, the network said Monday.
Dubbed "Web Shows", the half-hour weekly series, which will air at 2 a.m. ET/PT and premiere Monday, will include a mix of animation, live-action narrative and comedy programming from Comedy Central's Web site, Motherload. The network has ordered six episodes.
The programming block will also feature the AtomFilms webisode "The Punk Group: Fat Girls on Bicycles," marking the first collaboration between the network and the short-film Web destination that Viacom's MTV Networks acquired in August.
"We are a branded content company with a lot of resources and amazing talent online, and to make life easy for all of our audience we're showing a cross-section of this content across platforms to get them excited," said Lou Wallach, senior vp original programming and development at Comedy Central.
Wallach described the show as made up of eight or nine 2- to 3-minute shorts.
Dubbed "Web Shows", the half-hour weekly series, which will air at 2 a.m. ET/PT and premiere Monday, will include a mix of animation, live-action narrative and comedy programming from Comedy Central's Web site, Motherload. The network has ordered six episodes.
The programming block will also feature the AtomFilms webisode "The Punk Group: Fat Girls on Bicycles," marking the first collaboration between the network and the short-film Web destination that Viacom's MTV Networks acquired in August.
"We are a branded content company with a lot of resources and amazing talent online, and to make life easy for all of our audience we're showing a cross-section of this content across platforms to get them excited," said Lou Wallach, senior vp original programming and development at Comedy Central.
Wallach described the show as made up of eight or nine 2- to 3-minute shorts.
- 2/27/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Comedy Central has tapped the world of broadcast TV to provide the next wave of content for its broadband channel, MotherLoad. Michael J. Weithorn, co-creator and executive producer of CBS' The King of Queens, has created animated series Baxter & McGuire with actor-producer Nick Bakay. But Baxter, which is scheduled to debut in September, is nothing like you'll ever see on CBS, chronicling the closest of buddies who never leave each other's side -- who just happen to be talking testicles. Weithorn pitched Baxter specifically for MotherLoad, according to Lou Wallach, senior vp original programming at Comedy Central, who praised the "passion project" among a dozen of new projects in production or development for MotherLoad.
- 6/19/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Comedy Central is going multiplatform with its unique brand of comic mayhem. The network announced Tuesday the creation of MotherLoad, its new broadband channel, set to launch Tuesday. MotherLoad will debut with video clips from current and classic Comedy Central shows, stand-up performances and original content as well as new series created exclusively for the medium. The initiative follows such other Viacom brands as MTV Overdrive, VH1's VSpot and Nickelodeon's TurboNick into using broadband as an extension of the comedy network's traditional programming. "The idea is to complement what we're doing on air already," said Lou Wallach, Comedy Central senior vp original programming and development, "and to take everything great about Comedy Central and stuff it into one place."...
- 10/25/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Comedy Central is shaking up the format of its stand-up comedy programming. The network is in production on a new series, Comedians of Comedy, that blends stand-up performances with behind-the-scenes footage of the performers ranging from backstage to their hotel rooms. Comedians featured on the series include Brian Posehn, Maria Bamford, Zach Galifianakis and Patton Oswalt, who also executive produces with Dave Rath, Kara Welker and DJ Paul. Comedians could bow as early as fourth quarter of the year. Lou Wallach and Zoe Friedman are the Comedy Central executives in charge of production.
- 8/16/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- Comedy Central has completed production on Heroes of Comedy: Women on Top, a six-episode documentary series examining female comedians. Slated for first-quarter 2003, Women is the follow-up to Black Heroes of Comedy, which aired in February on the cable net. Lou Wallach, vp programming and development at Comedy Central, is considering turning the series into an annual event. "We felt it was worth extending the 'Heroes' franchise to further serve our viewers' interest in those comedy pioneers -- in this case, women -- who broke new ground and became major influences on the performers who followed them," he said. Narrated by Jane Krakowski (Ally McBeal), Women is split into separate hours devoted to sketch comedy, stand-up comedy, urban comedians, two installments on women in sitcoms and Fresh Voices, which explores the next generation of funny women. Among those interviewed are Janeane Garofalo, Roseanne, Kathy Griffin, Brett Butler and Wanda Sykes. Women was produced by Oxford Film and Television, which also produced Black.
- 12/2/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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