Dave Commissions Tiger Aspect Comedy Pilot

LONDON: UKTV has commissioned Tiger Aspect Productions to produce a pilot of the format Comedy Exchange for its entertainment channel Dave.

The hour-long pilot challenges Never Mind The Buzzcock’s Phill Jupitus and Flight of the Conchords‘ Eugene Mirman to trade countries, careers and friends to see if they can exist in a new comedy culture. The show is set to premiere exclusively on Dave in the first quarter of 2010. Filming in both New York and London, this Comedy Exchange pilot will be executive produced by UKTV’s Lisa Perrin and Tiger Aspect’s Gary Chippington, with Shannon Vandermark (Paradise Hotel, Castaway) as producer.

Perrin, UKTV’s director of commissioning for entertainment, said, “Comedy Exchange is a big, noisy reality format that puts two well-respected comedian’s reputations on the line and asks them to find a new funny bone in time for a final stand-up performance on the other side of the pond.”

UKTV’s director of entertainment, Christian Drobnyk, added, “We’ve already started filming Comedy Exchange and I can’t wait to see how Phill and Eugene fair in each other’s shoes. Despite speaking the same language, Brits don’t get jokes about altoids or Mickey Mantle, and gags about chavs or the WI are lost on us Americans.”

Chippington, Tiger Aspect’s head of presenter-led programming, commented, “We are delighted to be working again with the team at Dave on another comedy commission. We’re confident that Comedy Exchange will have the same impact and appeal as Argumental has with Dave viewers.”

Dave’s channel head, Steve North, added, “As the official home of witty banter, it’s tremendously satisfying to see our ambitious commissioning strategy evolving the world of stand-up further with the innovative Comedy Exchange.”