Comedy Central Sets Projects with Amy Schumer, Melissa McCarthy

NEW YORK: Comedy Central has revealed its upcoming development slate, which includes five series pickups, ten new specials and eleven pilots.

Comedy series/specials orders have been awarded to The Daily Show with Trevor Noah correspondent Jordan Klepper, who will star in a special revolving around social, cultural and political issues; Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat Productions, which will see the comedian produce and star in two original, stand-up series; and Jeff Ross, who will bring the popular Roast Battles from the comedy club to the screen and front the new special Jeff Ross Roasts the Police.

Comedy Central is also making a commitment to a series of comedy documentaries that will offer a fresh take on stories from the world of comedy. The project was conceived for the network by Drunk History and Another Period executive producer and director Jeremy Konner and Pentimento Productions’s documentary producer Emma Pildes.

Kurt Braunohler, Deon Cole, Pete Davidson, Joe DeRosa, Trevor Moore, Big Jay Oakerson, Dan Soder and The Goddamn Comedy Jam are all set for stand-up specials. Meanwhile, Typical Rick, a digital series from creators Nick Swardson and filmmaker Nicholaus Goossen, will star Swardson and Simon Rex.

Comedy Central signed The Daily Show with Trevor Noah correspondents Jessica Williams and Klepper to independent development deals, with Williams co-writing, producing and starring in a half-hour scripted narrative pilot and Klepper producing and starring in a late-night talk show presentation.

Production deals include projects from Amy Schumer, Chris Hardwick, Channing Tatum, Olivia Wilde, Jack Black, Eva Longoria, Ed Helms, Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone, along with Abominable Pictures, Above Average, Funny Or Die, Gloria Sanchez Productions, and Serious Business, among others.

“As anyone can see, we are continuing our tradition of collaborating with the smartest, funniest talent—both established and emerging, and in front of or behind the camera—to develop content across every imaginable platform, whether through long form, short form or ephemeral form, that is always bound by a strong, distinctive point of view,” said Kent Alterman, the president of original programming at Comedy Central. “Otherwise, the announcement speaks for itself.”