www.comedychannel.com.au MAY 2009 HIGHLIGHTS 1. Whatever Happened To That Guy? 2. Aussie Gold Celebrates FAST FORWARD’s 20th Anniversary 3. The Tonight Show with Jay Leno – Final Month 4. Sydney Comedy Festival Month Whatever Happened To That Guy? WORLD PREMIERE – 8.30pm Mondays, from 25 May 2009. LOCAL PRODUCTION - EXCLUSIVE TO THE COMEDY CHANNEL THE COMEDY CHANNEL is proud to announce that it is embarking on the biggest search in television history. A search to find out WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THAT GUY? That guy is Peter Moon. Once a comedy icon, star of Fast Forward and Breakfast radio, the world at his feet and a free drink card waiting for him at every night club in town. Five years on, a Moon spotting is as rare as a moon landing, which is hard to comprehend considering the success of his alumni, Jane Turner and Gina Riley, to name but a few. To help THE COMEDY CHANNEL in its search it has hired the best in the business, including legendary comedy director Ted Emery (KATH & KIM). The Peter Moon story will be unique, intriguing and absolutely hilarious. Aussie Gold Celebrates FAST FORWARD’s 20th Anniversary Fridays from 7.30pm – Hosted by Frank Woodley Includes CHANNEL PREMIERE of FAST FORWARD’S TEN YEAR BASH on May 22 at 8.30pm Every Friday night THE COMEDY CHANNEL there’s no other place to be than watching THE COMEDY CHANNEL as we bring you 3 hours of Australia’s finest with AUSSIE GOLD! Hosted by Frank Woodley we showcase the best in Australian comedy including Graham Kennedy’s BLANKETY BLANKS, JIMEOIN, John Clarke’s THE GAMES, THE COMEDY COMPANY, the stars of Kath & Kim in BIG GIRLS BLOUSE and THE NORMAN GUNSTON SHOW. Throughout May AUSSIE GOLD is celebrating the 20th Anniversary of FAST FORWARD - the greatest sketch comedy program this country has ever produced! This ground-breaking and award winning show created some of the funniest sketches and characters of all-time whilst also 1 launching the careers of Australia’s most-loved comedians, including Gina Riley, Jane Turner, Magda Szubanski, Peter Moon, Michael Veitch, Glenn Robbins, and Gold Logie winner Steve Vizard. At 8.30pm every Friday in May we present timeless episodes of FAST FORWARD’s FUNNIEST TV SEND UPS including some very special episodes hosted by Eric Bana (as Ray Martin) and a the CHANNEL PREMIERE of FAST FORWARD’S TEN YEAR BASH on May 22 at 8.30pm where Peter Moon and Michael Veitch present some of the show’s best sketches and hilarious outtakes. The Tonight Show with Jay Leno – The Final Month EXCLUSIVE AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE EPISODES Monday to Friday at 10.30pm THE TONIGHT SHOW is the most watched late night TV show and 3rd longest running entertainment show in US television history, and like the great Johnny Carson before him, finally after 2 outstanding, EMMY award winning decades the reigning King of Late Night television Jay Leno will soon be handing his crown to his worthy successor Conan O’Brien. With the countdown to the final episode, to air on 1 June 2009, you won’t want to miss a single episode of Jay in May! Every weeknight at 10:30pm will be a spectacular farewell party jam packed with hilarious comedy segments and the biggest names in entertainment and politics. Sydney Comedy Festival Month Every Saturday in May at 6.30pm The world's best comedians will be flying to Australia for the 2009 Sydney Comedy Festival, and to celebrate this spectacular event every Saturday night throughout May we'll be bringing you 4 special Sydney Comedy Festival galas including the world premiere of CRACKER NIGHT 2009. May 2 - CRACKER NIGHT - Filmed at The Enmore Theatre this special features Danny Bhoy, Arj Barker, Stephen K Amos and Akmal. May 9 - CRACKER NIGHT - This show features some of the top Australian and International comedians; Danny Bhoy (UK), Sam Bowring, Tommy Dean, Gina Yashere (UK), Kent Valentine and Daniel Townes. May 16 - CRACKER NIGHT - Some of the top Australian and International comedians. Hosted by Lindsay McDougall and including Fiona O'Loughlin, Mark Maron (USA), Arj Barker and Mark Watson (UK). May 23 - CRACKER NIGHT 2009 - This is the gala showcase spectacular event of the 2009 Sydney Comedy Festival, bringing to you no less than a dozen headlining festival acts all in one exciting WORLD PREMIERE TV special. Promising a stellar line-up of local comedy heroes and international giants, already confirmed are: Pablo Francisco (US), Jeremy Hotz (CAN), Sugar Sammy (CAN), Al Pitcher (UK) & Tony Woods (US). 2 The Merrick & Rosso Show (Series 2) CONTINUING WORLD PREMIERE EPISODES Thursdays at 8.30pm Get ready for the greatest sequel ever made! THE COMEDY CHANNEL presents the blockbusting return of those irrepressible pranksters Merrick & Rosso (Merrick Watts and Tim Ross) in the brand new series of THE MERRICK & ROSSO SHOW. Series 1 was the highest rating program ever on THE COMEDY CHANNEL and famously spawned the Stephanie Rice and Eamon Sullivan YouTube phenomenon, one of the most watched clips of 2008. Also from Series 1 who could forget, Welcome To Radelaide, Australia II: Electric Boogaloo, and the awesome prank Almost Transformers? Each week the boys will front up before a live studio audience with their unique take on what’s happening in the world of news and sport, to the big questions like “Can you deep fry a watermelon?” There’s also plenty of studio audience interaction and more mayhem and stupidity than is legal in three states. Oh, and did we mention the big-name celebrity guests? Brought into Merrick & Rosso’s world and presented in ways you’ve never seen them before Series 1 included ‘Mowing lawns with Ray Martin’ and Kate Ritchie’s “Summer Bay” Tours. Last season’s guests also included Will Ferrell, Jenna Elfman, Sophie Monk, The Veronicas, Ian “Dicko” Dickson, Ian Thorpe and, after a conversation with his answering machine, Hugh Jackman. Who will be up for the challenge in Series 2? It’s a case of watch and see! Buckle up Australia for the riotous MERRICK AND ROSSO SHOW. The Graham Norton Show (Series 3) SUBSCRIPTION TV PREMIERE Wednesdays at 10pm from May 6 Lovers of highbrow and good taste, well... you'd better look elsewhere – but for the rest of us, fasten your seatbelts and be prepared for anything-goes television! The irrepressible Mr Norton is back with his new series that promises to be even ruder, lewder, more outrageous and utterly hilarious. A combination of talk, music and unpredictable mischief, THE GRAHAM NORTON SHOW attracts a who’s-who of guests from the world of stage & screen for candid chats , to get involved in Graham's outrageous pranks, and to marvel at the latest craziness he's pulled from the darkest recesses of the Internet. Guests this season include superchef Gordon Ramsay, comedian Joan Rivers, Sex & the City’s Cynthia Nixon, comedy treasures Dawn French and Catherine Tate, actors John Malkovich, Tony Curtis and Susan Sarandon, the cast of Hart To Hart (are reunited!), and our very own housewife superstar, Dame Edna Everage graces the Norton couch. But wait, there’s more! Graham also showcases some of the world's biggest musical guests with performances from artists including Will.i.am, OneRepublic, Scouting for Girls, The Kooks and 4 times Brit Award winner Duffy. COMEDY CHANNEL EXCLUSIVES Late Night with Jimmy Fallon EXCLUSIVE AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE EPISODES - Monday to Friday at 11:15pm As Conan O’Brien prepares to take over the host’s chair at THE TONIGHT SHOW on June 2nd 2009, the brand new LATE NIGHT host Jimmy Fallon has moved in! Jimmy Fallon is only the third person to host LATE NIGHT since it began nearly three decades ago - the other two being David Letterman & Conan O'Brien. After first garnering attention in 1998 when he joined the cast of 3 SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE Fallon quickly became an audience favourite for his memorable recurring characters and spot-on impressions; and in 2000 Fallon became the co-anchor of the SNL's signature segment “Weekend Update” alongside Tina Fey. A recognized comic talent and film and television star, Fallon has demonstrated an ability to deliver versatile standout performances while always staying grounded in his stand-up roots. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report EXCLUSIVE AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE EPISODES - Weeknights at 6.30pm Your fix of news parody now comes to you in prime time with THE DAILY SHOW and THE COLBERT REPORT from 6:30pm weeknights going head-to-head with those tabloid-style current affairs shows we’re far too refined to mention. As we increasingly move towards a global society, and with a world financial crisis and major political changes in the USA these 2 cool cats of current affairs comedy will cut through the crap by informing, satirizing and entertaining you each weeknight, hot off the satellite, fresher and funnier than ever before! CONTINUING PREMIERE EPISODES My Name Is Earl (Series 3) SUBSCRIPTION TV PREMIERE SERIES - Double episodes – Mondays at 7.30pm NEW TIMESLOT The third season of My Name Is Earl takes a radical shift, to prison. How can Earl right his many past wrongs if he’s locked up in a jail cell? What will happen to “the list”? And who will stop his brother Randy walking into traffic? All these and other questions will be answered in the SUBSCRIPTION TV PREMIERE of MY NAME IS EARL - Series 3. The Sarah Silverman Program – Series 2 AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE – Tuesdays at 9.30pm Arguably one of the funniest women in comedy today, Sarah Silverman’s self titled, Emmy nominated comedy series has been ranked one of TIME Magazine’s top new TV shows with humour predominantly based on satirizing conventional "family-friendly" or wholesome television programs.