NBC UNIVERSAL'S NEW COMEDY BROADBAND CHANNEL 'DOTCOMEDY' ENTERS LAUGHING WITH FOUR ORIGINAL WEB SERIES, MULTIPLE SHORTS AND CLASSIC COMEDIES
Original Comedic Material Will Be Showcased Along with Highlights from NBC's Legendary Late-night Shows and Library
BURBANK � November 9, 2006 -- Building on its rich comedy heritage -- and ready to establish a new generation of classic humor -- NBC Universal announced today that its new comedy broadband channel, "DotComedy" (www.dotcomedy.com), is now live and will update daily.
The announcement was made by Jeff Gaspin, President, NBC Universal Cable Entertainment, Digital Content and Cross-Network Strategy.
"The launch of this new digital brand is an important milestone for us," said Gaspin. "NBC Universal has built a great history of comedy from late-night to 'must-see TV.' DotComedy is a digital extension in the same tradition. Comedy is one of the most successful genres on the web and this broadband channel will appeal to the advertisers' targeted demos."
The focus of the programming on the new channel will be original, web-exclusive material developed specifically for DotComedy. The broadband channel will also feature content from NBC's legendary late-night shows, including the first ten years of David Letterman's late night career - NBC's "Late Night with David Letterman" along with "Saturday Night Live," "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and "Late Night with Conan O'Brien." Sitcom fans will find vintage material mined from the NBC Universal television library, featuring the DotComedy exclusive, Emmy-winning and critically-acclaimed HBO original series "Dream On" accompanied by other fan-favorites "Leave It To Beaver," "The Munsters," "Coach" and "Significant Others." DotComedy will also be home to a wide selection of stand-up, sketch material and viral videos.
Additionally, DotComedy will give users an opportunity to showcase their own comedic talents by providing them with a virtual stage on which the site will feature user-generated content.
The exclusive and original series, pilots and shorts rolled out by year's end will include:
"Hot Tub in Space" -- Comedy troupe Summer of Tears stars in this series which follows a tale of four shiftless twenty-somethings who were enjoying their new hot tub - until it unexpectedly blasted into space. Now on the adventure of their lives, the boys must traverse the galaxy, battle evil, and take part in interstellar diplomacy, all in their swim trunks. Created by Rob Kerkovich and Todd Waldman.
"Untitled Comedy News Show" - Hosted by Brian Unger ("The Daily Show"), this user-collaborated, news-series parody will take an irreverent look at current headlines � and pay the audience for writing the jokes. New episodes will post each week through early 2007. Unger was a co-host on "Extra" and can currently be heard on NPR's "Day to Day" as well as filling-in for Keith Olberman on MSNBC.
"Playback" � In this bi-weekly series, musical comedians Stuckey and Murray take a humorous and satirical look at current events and pop culture topics, through an originally composed song. Stuckey and Murray regularly perform in New York City venues such as the Upright Citizen's Brigade, the Knitting Factory and Caroline's on Broadway, in addition to their radio show, which can be heard on Sirius and National Lampoon Radio.
"Easter Bunny Begins" -- The prequel to the wildly successful viral video, "The Easter Bunny Hates You," which reveals the bunny's abusive home life as a child -- and his subsequent rise to power after being taken in and trained by a master martial arts sensei. Viewers can now find out what drove this beloved children's character over the edge.
"Triumph the Insult Comic Dog: Live In Las Vegas" � Audiences have seen him on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," now they can see Robert Smigel's notorious Triumph the Insult Comic Dog recorded live and uncensored in concert in Las Vegas - only on DotComedy.
"Kona & Hilo" -- What do your cats do when their owners are not around? Why, call each other up on cell phones to discuss their dreams, their fears and Thomas Hayden Church. This is an NBC Universal Digital Studios original production.
"Celeb Look-Alike Show" -- Since celebrities mesmerize people, what happens when the world's biggest stars pick on the average citizen? Using celebrity look-alikes, this show will create hidden camera situations never before seen or imagined. The pilot is produced by Savar Media, which has created over 150, multiple-award-winning webisodes of original programming for clients including: AOL, People en Espanol, MTV Networks and Fuse.
"Kyle's in a Coma" -- Kyle is in a coma -- and many of his friends are dedicated to spending a lot of time in his hospital room until he comes out of it. Boredom sets in pretty quickly, and people fall prey to the same wacky stuff they normally do. The only problem now is that they're doing it next to the body of their comatose friend. Created by and starring Whirled News Tonight, whose 11-person cast has been entertaining sold-out audiences for the past three years at Chicago's iO Theater. Produced by Resolution Digital Studios, a Chicago-based state of the art HD production company with major credits at the Broadcast and cable networks, as well as thousands of minutes of mobile content from the NCAA Men's Basketball tournament for Sprint.
"Cube Farm" -- Living your life as a wage slave trapped in a cubicle? This mock instructional video provides an irreverent guide to how to misbehave in the office.
This pilot is hosted by Jim Festante, who appears in Microsoft's online series "ESP Billy," and is produced by Ibid Filmworks.
"Beverly Bredwell's Charm School" -- In this scripted pilot, Natasha Legerro ("Reno 911," MTV's "The '70s House") plays a helpful know-it-all who would seem more at home in a bygone era. Beverly doesn't care if you're doing the wrong thing, so long as you're doing it the right way. In the pilot episode, she "helps" a homeless man - not by feeding, clothing or housing him, but by showing him how to be a more gracious panhandler. This series is written by Chip Pope and Natasha Legerro.
"Loaded Cartridge" � Pulled from the classic 80's arcade game "Double Dragon," the two hero characters have left their street-fighting days behind for office jobs. But when a few of their old foes come around looking for trouble, these aging brawlers get to do what they do best, one more time. This short is produced by NBC Universal Digital Studios.
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