COMEDY CENTRAL Orders Second Season Of Hit Game Show "Distraction"

New Season To Consist Of 14 Episodes And Will Premiere 1Q 2006 British Comedian Jimmy Carr Back To Serve As Host

NEW YORK, August 18, 2005 -- COMEDY CENTRAL has ordered a second season of the network's hit game show, "Distraction," it was announced today by Lauren Corrao, executive vice president, original programming and development. The second season order is for 14 episodes and it will premiere in 1Q 2006.

Produced by FremantleMedia North America ("American Idol," "How Clean Is Your House?") and hosted by British comedian Jimmy Carr, this outrageous, laugh-out-loud game show revolves around Carr's sharp, dry wit and his brash dealings with contestants. Based on FremantleMedia's British show of the same name, "Distraction" demands the ultimate in physical and mental endurance from its contestants. The show pitches four rivals in a battle of wits to answer general knowledge questions while being "distracted" by a series of challenges, aimed at throwing them off course.

"We're excited to bring 'Distraction' back for a second season of nudists, masochists and narcissists," said Corrao. "The focus of the contestants is truly amazing to watch and they'll need every ounce of it as they put themselves through the challenges the writers and producers have cooked up for the new season."

?We are very proud of the outstanding response to the first season of ?Distraction,?? said Cecile Frot-Coutaz, CEO of FremantleMedia North America. ?We look forward to building on our success with COMEDY CENTRAL as we head into another season.?

New distractions for the second season include: Tattoo -- tattoo artists administer fresh tattoos while contestants try to concentrate on answering questions; Nudist on Turntables -- wearing nothing but index cards with answers written on them, nudists rotate on a turntable as contestants are asked questions that correlate to the answers on the cards and must take the cards/answers off the nudists with their teeth; Electrocution -- contestants receive an electric shock every time they blink as they attempt to answer questions; Geese Peck -- contestants must answer questions while lying down in a pen, covered with feed, as geese eat off their bodies; and Catapult -- a small catapult throws a bevy of items such as eggs, pies and flour into the contestants' faces each time they buzz in to answer a question.

First season "distractions" that will make an encore include: Clothes Pins, contestants must attach as many clothespins on their face as possible during a speed round of questions; Wrestlers, huge wrestlers body slam and throw contestants around while they are asked and answer a variety of questions; and Hot Shots, contestants down a shot of hot sauce before they can answer each question.

Carr, the current host of "Distraction" in the UK, is a frequent performer at the Montreal Just For Laughs Festival and the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival. He has also appeared on such shows as ?The Tonight Show with Jay Leno? and ?Late Night With Conan O'Brien.?

"Distraction" is executive produced by Michael Dugan, whose credits include COMEDY CENTRAL's ?Trigger Happy TV," the game show ?Smush? for USA Network and ?Apt. 2F? for MTV. Zoe Friedman and Scott Landsman serve as executives in charge of production for COMEDY CENTRAL.

FremantleMedia North America (FMNA) is on the leading edge of global broadcast production, developing some of television's most innovative and watched new programming. Based in Santa Monica and with offices in New York, FMNA has produced such genre-bending shows as the musical/reality phenomenon "American Idol" (Fox), which received five Emmy nominations in 2003, and the hotly debated reality series "The Swan" (Fox). The company recently completed a 12 episode series of the comedy game show ?Distraction?, for Comedy Central. Other credits include "The Price Is Right" (CBS), the longest-running game show in television history, the daily syndicated game show ?Family Feud? and the breakout hit lifestyle show "How Clean Is Your House?" (Lifetime).

COMEDY CENTRAL, the only all-comedy network, currently is seen in more than 87 million homes nationwide. COMEDY CENTRAL is owned by Comedy Partners, a wholly-owned division of MTV Networks. COMEDY CENTRAL is a registered trademark of Comedy Partners. COMEDY CENTRAL's Internet address is http://www.comedycentral.com.