Comedy Central has made YouTube the home for its slate of digital originals.
The brand (which is owned by Viacom) has launched a Comedy Central Originals channel on YouTube that’s meant to be a “one-stop shop for the very best digital original comedy.”
Comedy Central expects to release five new pieces of content per week on the channel, Jen Danielson, Comedy Central’s senior VP of digital, told Variety. That content will span comedy genres from stand-up specials to mockumentaries, and will feature new series as well as returning shows that have previously aired elsewhere within Comedy Central’s distribution network.
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Comedy Central already has a handful of YouTube channels, including its main channel, which has 7.6 million subscribers. It also launched a stand-up channel on YouTube last fall, which Danielson said got enough traction to encourage Comedy Central to push into an originals channel. But, she added, the brand also started the new YouTube channel because it wanted to give the movers and makers behind its digital series more standalone attention.
“Creators, especially up-and-coming creators, can get lost in the overall brand channel,” Danielson said. She added that members of Comedy Central’s Creators Program (a group formed last year that comprises comedians and writers) will be the “primary faces” for the new channel and its content.
New programming began premiering on the channel March 1. The next premiere is Emily Heller: Ice Thickeners, set for March 8. Heller’s show will be Comedy Central’s first one-hour special to premiere exclusively on a digital platform.
You can see a full list of the channel’s planned programming below.
New Series:
- wellRED Comedy (premiered March 1): Sketch series from the perspective of real-life millennials and progressives who grew up in the South, parodying both small-town America and biased coastal presumptions about what it means to be from Dixie.
- Comedians Solve World Problems (premieres March 11): A U.S. version of a format created by Comedy Central U.K., which will be accompanied by nine additional versions rolling out across Comedy Central International social and digital platforms.
- Shane Torres Conquers Your Fears (premieres March 15): Comedian Shane Torres 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. 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.
- UNSEND (premieres March 19): Celebrating the best and worst of the internet, hosted by Joel Kim-Booster (“Conan,” “The Other Two”) and Patti Harrison (“Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon,” “A Simple Favor”). Created by Deanna Cheng (“Heathers”) and Matt McConkey (“Heathers” and the Homophilia podcast) and is produced by Paul Scheer (“The Disaster Artist,” “Black Monday”).
- My Least Favorite Thing (premieres April 5): Zach Bornstein travels to meet a celebrity as they prepare to do the one thing they that hate doing more than all other things. Produced by Big Breakfast.
Returning Series
- After Hours w/ Josh Horowitz: Josh Horowitz takes celebrities to places you never dreamed of. Guests include Liam Hemsworth, Tiffany Haddish, James McAvoy, Benedict Cumberbatch, Anna Kendrick, and Alexandra Daddario.
- As Seen on CC: Products you didn’t know you needed and some you might want to avoid; current episodes are also available on Facebook Watch.
- Dollar Store Therapist: A low-budget therapist (Connor Ratliff) works out of the back of a discount store, doling out useless advice.
- Mini-Mocks: In the style of “60 Second Docs,” the series of short faux documentaries has generated over 160 million streams across Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. The most popular episodes: “Gummy Animal Breeder” and “BDSM Food Porn.”
- Thank You, Goodnight: Show following comics as they hustle around New York City to multiple gigs. Season one comics included Joel Kim Booster, Yamaneika Saunders and Casey James Salengo; season two debuts March 11 and features Emmy Blotnick, Tim Dillon and Nore Davis.
- That’s An App?: Parody commercials for the latest technological solutions for all our first world problems. Episodes include “Scat Scanner,” “OkOedipus” and “SinMo.”
- The Foley Artist: Mockumentary series featuring regular guy Tim Duffy creating every sound effect on TV, from the sensual kisses of “The Bachelor” to sneaker squeaks of college basketball.
- You Didn’t Wanna Know: PSA parodies with comedians explaining actual things you didn’t want to know. Episodes include “Bugs In Your Food” featuring Jim Gaffigan and “Turtles Have Salmonella” featuring Ben Schwartz.
In Development
- Agree to Disagree: Comedians debate faux hot-button issues — like whether tater tots or onion rings are better.
- Mad Memes: A show about which internet memes excellent investment opportunities… but are actually worthless.
- Sex Fails: Comedians reveal their lowest sexual moments, bought to hideous, cringe-inducing life through animation.
- Tales From the Trip: Animated series in which comedians share their wildest psychedelic drug stories.
