COMEDY CENTRAL� PEEKS UNDER THE HOOD WITH THE SERIES PICK-UP OF "AMERICAN BODY SHOP"
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"American Body Shop" Is An Improvised, Half-Hour Narrative Series
To Premiere Summer 2007
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NEW YORK, October 4, 2006 -- Stop by COMEDY CENTRAL for a tune-up as they reveal the mysterious and hysterical world of car maintenance, body work and the people who toil in it. COMEDY CENTRAL has given a series pick-up to "American Body Shop," it was announced today by Lauren Corrao, executive vice president, original programming and development, COMEDY CENTRAL. The series is scheduled to premiere 10 episodes during the summer of 2007.
Based on an idea by Sam Greene and produced by Jim Jones ("The Ben Stiller Show," "Austin Stories") and Sam Greene, COMEDY CENTRAL's "American Body Shop," is an improvised narrative in the same vein as the network's hit series, "Reno 911!," which will, as "Reno" did to the world of law enforcement, shed a whole new light on the way people look at their local auto body repair shops and the accompanying, often eccentric, characters who work there.
"Our audience will find the bizarre and over-the-top characters on 'American Body Shop' hysterical and intriguing, as Sam and Jim take us into the inner-workings of a local body shop," said Corrao. "Any guy who's ever taken his car to one can relate to the wild individuals who invariably work there. With 'American Body Shop,' you get the same hilarious antics of that world without having to pay for parts and labor."
"American Body Shop" will be produced by Jim Jones, who also directed the pilot, and Sam Greene. Daniel Powell and Zoe Friedman will serve as the executives in charge of production for COMEDY CENTRAL.
"American Body Shop" revolves around the life of Sam, the twice-divorced shop owner, who tries his best to keep the shop running smoothly, but has a hard time with his unruly employees and put-upon receptionist, Denise. The body shop's stable of mechanics and auto workers include: Rob, a savant-like technician whose solutions are usually far more complex than the problem; Johnny, a displaced wanna-be gangster from Brooklyn who falsely implies that he's in the witness protection program; Tim, an undersexed prankster whose jokes come at inappropriate moments; and Luis, a Peruvian immigrant who hides a complex and mysterious persona behind a presumed lack of English.
In the pilot episode, Sam must scramble to get the shop up-to-code when an insurance rep threatens to revoke their policy. Unfortunately, he finds that his stubborn employees are firmly set in their rule-breaking ways. As Sam struggles with the shop, Denise hunts down car wrecks, so she can plant sales materials on injured passengers and Luis plots revenge against Johnny for his racist remarks.
CENTRAL, the only all-comedy network, currently is seen in more than 88 million homes nationwide. COMEDY CENTRAL is owned by Comedy Partners, a wholly-owned division of Viacom Inc.'s (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B) MTV Networks. COMEDY CENTRAL is a registered trademark of Comedy Partners. COMEDY CENTRAL's Internet address is www.comedycentral.com. For up-to-the-minute and archival press information and photographs, visit "Press Central," COMEDY CENTRAL's press-only Web site, at www.comedycentral.com/press.
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