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CTV Comedy Channel, Just For Laughs and Counterfeit Pictures partner for all-new original series, Roast Battle Canada

From a media release:

CTV Comedy Channel and Just For Laughs are stepping into the ring together to bring Canadians the all-new original series, ROAST BATTLE CANADA. Based on the format from ViacomCBS International Studios Distribution, the eight, half-hour episode series builds on the success of Bell Media’s French-language version, ROAST BATTLE: LE GRAND DUEL, which is consistently a top-ranking series for Z. The English-language adaption, ROAST BATTLE CANADA, is produced in partnership with Just For Laughs and Counterfeit Pictures and will film later this year.

ROAST BATTLE CANADA sees two pairs of Canadian comics faceoff in each episode, hurling ruthless jokes at each other in hopes of coming out unscathed and crowned the victor by a distinguished panel of judges. Presiding over each episode are megastar comedian Russell Peters; writer, producer, actor, and all-around funny person, Sabrina Jalees (CAROL’S SECOND ACT); and Season 1 ROAST BATTLE semi-finalist, LETTERKENNY’s own K. Trevor Wilson. Actor and comedian Ennis Esmer, slated to appear in the upcoming CTV original series, CHILDREN RUIN EVERYTHING, serves as host.

Based on ROAST BATTLE, the U.S. television series created by comedians Jeff Ross and Brian Moses, the original format has also been adapted in Germany, Spain, Mexico, South Africa, and the UK. Each original airing of Bell Media’s successful French-language adaptation, ROAST BATTLE: LE GRAND DUEL has been the most-watched series of the broadcast season for Z.

ROAST BATTLE CANADA is produced by CTV Comedy, in association with Just For Laughs Television and Counterfeit Pictures. Bruce Hills is Executive Producer and also President, Just For Laughs. Anton Leo serves as Executive Producer, along with Dan Bennett and Shane Corkery of Counterfeit Pictures. Comedian Russell Peters also executive produces. The series was directed by Shelagh O’Brien.

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Humour Resources, Industry News

Just for Laughs wraps production on Humour Resources for CBC

From a media release:

Just For Laughs today announced that production has wrapped on HUMOUR RESOURCES (6X30), an irreverent new comedy series starring Canadian comedian, Jon Dore (Inside Amy Schumer, The Stand Up Show with Jon Dore). Produced remotely from August – October, the series features Dore as a human resources manager providing virtual coaching to some of the world’s top comics. Co-created by Dore, Adam Brodie and Dave Derewlany, HUMOUR RESOURCES is slated to premiere on CBC and the free CBC Gem streaming service in winter 2021.

A hilarious, cutting and timely social commentary on a comedian’s place in our current high-alert environment of political correctness and cancel culture, HUMOUR RESOURCES follows Jon Dore as a retired comedian turned Human Resources manager. Filmed during the COVID-19 outbreak while under quarantine, Jon, living with his girlfriend Christina and her six-year-old daughter Emma, meets with comedians via webcam from his home office to evaluate and consult on the appropriateness of their material and overall “workplace” behaviour.

HUMOUR RESOURCES features many special guests including A-list comedians: Sarah Silverman; Tom Green; Eric Andre; Scott Thompson; Reggie Watts; Nikki Glaser; The Lucas Bros; Ronny Chieng; Dave Merheje; DeAnne Smith; Rory Scovel; Debra DiGiovanni; Sophie Buddle; Courtney Gilmour; Arthur Simeon; Casey Corbin; Aisha Brown; and Kyle Brownrigg.

HUMOUR RESOURCES was developed and executive produced by Jon Dore, and developed, directed and executive produced by Adam Brodie and Dave Derewlany. Produced by Just For Laughs, the series is also executive produced by Bruce Hills and Marina Di Pancrazio. Zoe Rabnett and Nick Brazao are talent producers, and Anton Leo serves as the supervising producer.

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Industry News, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

CTV and Just For Laughs wrap production on an all-new season of The Stand Up Show with Jon Dore

From a media release:

CTV and Just For Laughs announced today that production has wrapped on an all-new season of THE STAND UP SHOW WITH JON DORE. Amid COVID-19 safety protocols, eight half-hour episodes were filmed in front of live, socially distanced audiences at Crow’s Next Theatre in Toronto last month.

Produced as part of Bell Media’s ongoing partnership with Just For Laughs and hosted by Canadian comedian Jon Dore (THE JON DORE TELEVISION SHOW, FUNNY AS HELL), the second season is slated to premiere on CTV Comedy Channel, with broadcast details to be confirmed later.

Featuring Dore’s notorious offbeat humour, the newest episodes features performances from some of Canada’s most sought-after homegrown comedians including Al Val, Debra DiGiovanni, Nour Hadidi, and Salma Hindy, as well as many coveted Just For Laughs’ New Faces: Canada alumni like Cassie Cao, Brandon Ash-Mohammed, Dave Merheje, Hoodo Hersi, Hisham Kelati, Nick Nemeroff, Ron Josol, , Yumi Nagashima, and many more.

THE STAND UP SHOW WITH JON DORE is produced by CTV, in association with Just For Laughs Television and Counterfeit Pictures. Bruce Hills is Executive Producer and also President, Just For Laughs. Anton Leo serves as Executive Producer, along with Dan Bennett and Shane Corkery of Counterfeit Pictures.Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Industry News

Just For Laughs’ Stand Up & Pitch ’20 launches

From a media release:

Submissions are now open for the largest and longest-running comedy pitch program, the 11thannual Just For Laughs’ Stand Up & Pitch in Montreal. Project 10 Productions and Tubefilter return as presenters of this unique program, running from July 22-25, 2020 during ComedyPRO, Just For Laughs’ elite comedy industry conference.

With submissions being accepted from all over the world, Stand Up & Pitch: The Comedy Content Search will offer five finalists in each category the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to pitch their digital, TV or OTT concept to a panel of seasoned development and production executives, in a room filled with over 100 comedy industry tastemakers and accredited industry professionals. One winner will be selected from each session format and will be invited back for the 2021 edition of Just For Laughs ComedyPRO. They will receive one (1) free trip to the Just For Laughs Festival, including flight, a hotel room for up to three (3) nights, and a festival pass.

Stand Up & Pitch showcases projects from across the comedy spectrum, from a diverse range of comedy creators. Projects have come from creators such as festival favourites Andy Kindler and Jay Oakerson, YouTube sensation Epic Lloyd Ahlquist (Epic Rapp Battles), notable Netflix performers Keisha Zollar and Dwayne Perkins, JFL New Face Leonard Chan, Award-winning producer Lauren Corber and First Nation Canadian star Darrell Dennis.

Open to comedians, writers, producers and creators, Stand Up & Pitch offers two (2) formats for submission:

From Set to Screen: TV, OTT, SVOD and More
Presented by Project 10 Productions, submissions are now being accepted for single or multi-camera scripted sitcoms, game shows, reality shows, variety, sketch or animated series. These pitches are intended for television programs running 30mins. This year’s prestigious panellists confirmed to date include Devin Griffin (Executive Vice President & General Manager of BET+), Kate Adler (Executive Vice President of Comedy Development, CBS Television Studios) and Chris Kelley (Production Executive, Original Programming, Comedy, Bell Media), moderated by Ben Murray (President of Project 10 Canada). Previous panellists for this program have included executives from other esteemed companies including Amazon, Comedy Central, FOX, HBO and more.

Beyond the Box: Playing It Short
Presented by Tubefilter, submissions are now being accepted for digital-first shows aimed for YouTube or other digital platforms, including scripted, animation, factual, variety and sketch. These pitches are intended for shows running 15mins or less. This year’s prestigious panellists include Deniese Davis (COO of ColorCreative), Ally Engelberg (Director of Development and Production at Above Average), Jennifer Danielson (Senior Vice President of Digital Content at Comedy Central) and Zadi Diaz (Founder of Major Digital Studios), moderated by Drew Baldwin (Founder and CEO of Tubefilter, Creator and Executive Producer of the Streamy Awards).

Deadline to submit projects for this year’s event is May 8, 2020 at 11:59pm PST.

For additional details, full submission guidelines, and to submit for the 11th annual Stand Up & Pitch program, visit the Just For Laughs ComedyPRO website at www.comedypro.hahaha.com/submissions.Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Industry News

Just For Laughs and CraveTV partner on three new original stand-up specials

From a media release:

Just For Laughs and CraveTV announced today that they will once again partner on three hour-long CraveTV Original stand-up comedy specials, exclusively for the premium streaming service. Showcasing Canada’s own Robby Hoffman, DJ Demers, and Mark Forward, the new stand-up specials will be taped in front of a live audience at Toronto’s Longboat Hall as part of JFL42, Toronto’s Just For Laughs comedy festival, before landing on CraveTV later this year.

Heading into its seventh edition, JFL42, running from September 20-29, 2018, is a pass-based interactive comedy festival allowing comedy fans to access more shows than ever before, establishing itself as one of today’s most successful and innovative comedy events.

The new stand-up specials join the long list of projects that Just For Laughs and Bell Media have partnered on in the past, including six seasons of JUST FOR LAUGHS: ALL ACCESS and HOMEGROWN COMICS HOSTED BY K. TREVOR WILSON (premiering on Monday, September 3 at 9 p.m. ET on The Comedy Network). CraveTV’s first three original stand-up specials taped at JFL42 in 2017: DARCY MICHAEL GOES TO CHURCH, DEB DIGIOVANNI: HERE’S THE THING, and GRAHAM CHITTENDEN: RELUCTANT ADULT, which are all currently streaming on CraveTV.

Robby Hoffman is a writer and performer who just wrapped writing for TruTV’s THE CHRIS GETHARD SHOW. This year, she was named one of Comedy Central’s ‘Up Next’ comedians. She was recently a writer on the CBC shows WORKIN’ MOMS, and BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW, and won an Emmy for her work on PBS’ ODD SQUAD. As a comedian, Hoffman has performed in many renowned festivals, including the Montréal Just For Laughs Comedy Festival, Bridgetown, and Denver’s Crom Festival.

DJ Demers is an award-winning stand-up comedian. Demers appeared on Season 11 of NBC’s AMERICA’S GOT TALENT, and has performed stand-up on TBS’ CONAN. Winner of the 2014 Homegrown Comics Competition at the prestigious Montréal Just For Laughs Comedy Festival, Demers has also performed as part of Toronto’s JFL42 Comedy Festival. Winner of the 2013 Toronto Comedy Brawl, and finalist on NBC’s STAND-UP FOR DIVERSITY, Demers also won ‘Best Breakout Artist’ at the 2015 Canadian Comedy Awards. In 2018, his album, [Indistinct Chatter], was nominated for a JUNO Award for Best Comedy Album.

Mark Forward is a multi-award-winning comedian. He has performed at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and made his 10th return to the Montréal Just For Laughs Comedy Festival this summer. He’s been on Comedy Central’s JOHN OLIVER’S NEW YORK STAND-UP SHOW and has made a number of appearances on CBS’ THE LATE LATE SHOW. An accomplished actor, Forward was featured in the third season of FX’s FARGO, was a writer and cast member on IFC and The Comedy Network’s THE JON DORE TELEVISION SHOW, and is a series regular on CraveTV’s LETTERKENNY. Loved for stealing almost every scene he is in, Forward has also self-distributed a phenomenal comedy special- and it’s only 99 cents!

The CraveTV Original stand-up specials are co-produced by Just For Laughs Television and Counterfeit Pictures in association with Bell Media’s CraveTV. Executive producers are Bruce Hills from Just For Laughs and Dan Bennett, Shane Corkery, and Anton Leo from Counterfeit Pictures. The specials are directed by Shelagh O’Brien.Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail