Steve Carell & David Steinberg Team for Showtime Interview Series

LOS ANGELES: Steve Carell (The Office) and David Steinberg (Sit Down Comedy with David Steinberg) are executive producing the new comedy interview series Laughing Stock for Showtime.

The series, to be hosted by Steinberg, features sit-down interviews with some of the world’s biggest comedians, discussing their careers and influences. Guests will include Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Don Rickles, Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, Larry David, Ellen DeGeneres, Judd Apatow, Tina Fey, Jane Lynch and Sarah Silverman. Carell will also be a guest in one episode.

Carell and Steinberg will executive produce alongside Vance DeGeneres and Charlie Hartsock for Carousel Productions, with Steinberg also serving as director and host. The 10×30-minute series will debut on Showtime in early 2012.

“We have gathered a monumental assortment of comedic legends, and their contemporary protégées,” said Carell. “It’s enlightening, fascinating, but more importantly, it’s funny.”

“What makes our show unique is you will see the comedian’s connections to each other and to those who have influenced them in the past,” added Steinberg. “It’s like getting a look at a comedy tree of the last five decades.”