Last Updated: July 21 www.comedychannel.com.au AUGUST 2009 HIGHLIGHTS 1. Summer Heights High 2. Everybody Hates Chris (Series 1) 3. The Best Of British Summer Heights High SUBSCRIPTION TV PREMIERE Thursdays at 8.30pm from August 13 Following the internationally acclaimed hit series WE CAN BE HEROES about the search for Australian on the Year, the award-winning high-school mockumentary SUMMER HEIGHTS HIGH spotlights the incisive observation and piercing comedy of Chris Lilley, who both wrote the series and portrays all three main characters. Filmed in a documentary style, with non-actors playing supporting characters Chris Lilley reveals what really happens in an average Australian high school as epitomised by its three main protagonists: Mr G - “Two words, deal with it” - The Megalomaniac "Director of Performing Arts" Mr G who, despite relentless opposition, cancels the traditional school musical so that he can write his own original "Arena Spectacular". Ja'mie King - “I don’t want to be a bitch, but…” - A self-absorbed, privileged teenager who is taking part in a swap scheme to bridge the divide between state and private schools, but finds she is way out of her comfort zone. Jonah Takalua - “Puck you Miss” - A contemptuous Tongan break-dancer and graffitist who was previously expelled for setting fire to lockers and defacing the principal's car. Hilarious, absurd and frequently shocking, SUMMER HEIGHTS HIGH reveals a world where the seemingly huge traumas of friendship, staff politics, schoolwork and relationships are the fabric of life in the school universe. SUMMER HEIGHTS HIGH is followed at 9pm by Australian sketch comedy at it’s finest with BIG BITE – see the early days of Chris Lilley’s character Mr G (also look out for Deal Or No Deal’s Andrew O’Keefe). Then at 9.30pm it’s Australia's fifth best public affairs program - HAMISH & ANDY’S REAL STORIES. Everybody Hates Chris (Series 1) and the CHRIS ROCK-ATHON SUBSCRIPTION TV PREMIERE Thursdays at 7.30pm from August 6 CHRIS ROCK-ATHON August 6 from 7.30pm – 11pm For Chris, turning 13 is anything but a wonder year. Motivated by his childhood experiences, Emmy Award- winner/actor/comedian Chris Rock, narrates this hilarious & touching story of a teenager growing up as the oldest of three children in Brooklyn, New York during the early 1980s. He is the only black kid in an all-white junior high school that offers him "not a Harvard-type education, just not a sticking-up-a-liquor-store-type education." Although being a target for bullies, Chris' innate charm and sharp wit enable him to make new friends and get him out of difficult situations. Chris struggles to find his place while keeping his younger brother & sister in line at home and surmounting the tests of junior high school. At home, his cost-conscious father, Julius works two jobs to make ends meet. His mother, Rochelle, also works part-time and knows "100 recipes for whooping ass." Chris is often called upon to be "the emergency adult" to his younger brother, Drew, who is taller than Chris and better at everything from karate to girls, and his younger sister, Tonya, who is Daddy's favourite and delights in getting Chris into trouble. 1 Last Updated: July 21 As Chris Rock pointedly looks back, his younger self is set to find what his family already knows: Chris' sharp, scrappy character is going to take him places. But first, he's going to have to think, talk or run his way through one growing experience after another at both home and school, and on any number of buses along the way. And to celebrate the launch of the brilliant EVERYBODY LOVES CHRIS on August 6 it’s time to Rock your world with the bad boy of comedy in the CHRIS ROCK-ATHON Starting at 7.30pm double episodes of EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS , then at 8.30pm it’s time for CHRIS ROCK: NEVER SCARED - Taped before a live audience in Washington, this special features Chris Rock's unique, adults-only take on social, political and celebrity issues. Followed by CHRIS ROCK: BIGGER & BLACKER - Chris Rock makes a raucous return to his stand-up roots in front of a live audience at the legendary Apollo Theatre in Harlem, New York City. And followed by The Best Of British INCLUDES CHANNEL PREMIERES Sundays 7.30pm to 11pm Each Sunday night THE COMEDY CHANNEL is proud to showcase 3 and a half hours of classic British comedy. This hilarious night of British laughs is full of hand-picked British comedies including ARE YOU BEING SERVED?, THE GOODIES, ON THE BUSES, DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE, MIND YOUR LANGUAGE, YES MINISTER and the saucy ‘ALLO ‘ALLO! And from August 30th get ready for the BEST OF BRITISH PREMIERES of BLACK ADDER and HALE & PACE and the CHANNEL PREMIERE of MEN BEHAVING BADLY . And speaking of Hale & Pace, Gareth Hale and Norman Pace will also be hosting our weekly cavalcade of UK hilarity. Grab a chip butty and a kiss-me-quick hat and get ready for THE BEST OF BRITISH! Hale & Pace RETURNING TO THE COMEDY CHANNEL PART OF THE BEST OF BRITISH 7.30pm Sundays from August 30 Gareth Hale and Norman Pace are the madcap and highly successful comedy duo and renowned as one of Britain's funniest and most notorious double acts. Their slick sketches and lavishly produced musical numbers have won HALE AND PACE comedy's most coveted prize, the Golden Rose of Montreux. From gangsters to children's TV presenters, Hale & Pace bring a kaleidoscope of irrepressible characters that will have you rocked with laughter. Men Behaving Badly CHANNEL PREMIERE PART OF THE BEST OF BRITISH 8pm Sundays from August 30 A defining sitcom of the 1990s, MEN BEHAVING BADLY reacts against the onset of the caring, sharing 'new man' by reveling a riotous politically incorrect pageant of boorishness and slobbery. Gary (Martin Clunes), the disgruntled manager of a security alarm company is struggling to break up with his long-suffering girlfriend Dorothy (Caroline Quentin) while competing with his aimless flatmate Dermot (Harry Enfield, later Tony, Neil Morrissey ) for the attentions of their fetching new upstairs neighbour Deborah (Leslie Ash). Plots are often built around the guys obsessions, like a chess match over opera tickets, their love of Kylie or an attempt at seduction via a synthesized flamenco guitar, and the petty, careless, and generally inane behavior of the guys. The sterling cast and brilliant writing invest this pair of clods with the humanity needed to make their mishaps both excruciating and very funny. Black Adder 2 Last Updated: July 21 RETURNING TO THE COMEDY CHANNEL PART OF THE BEST OF BRITISH 8.30pm Sundays from August 30 One of the best comedy series ever to emerge from the UK, Black Adder traces the deeply cynical and self- serving lineage of various Edmund Blackadders from the muck of the Middle Ages to the frontline of World War I. British comic actor Rowan Atkinson plays all five versions of Edmund Blackadder backed by a brilliant supporting cast that includes Miranda Richardson, Rik Mayall, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, Tony Robinson and Tim McInnerny. Animania – Hosted by Avenue Q Wednesdays from 8.30pm THE COMEDY CHANNEL is excited to announce that by special arrangement ANIMANIA will be hosted by the outrageously politically incorrect puppets of AVENUE Q - the new hit Tony Award winning musical. From 8.30pm on Wednesdays it’s THE COMEDY CHANNEL’s wild animation block ANIMANIA. Starting at 8.30pm with two episodes of SOUTH PARK (including the SUBSCRIPTION TV PREMIERE of series 12), and followed by the terrifyingly awesome one-hour [adult swim] block. It’s time for all kids to get out of the pool as we play some of the weirdest most mind-scrambling animations to ever hit your TV screen with AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE episodes of Seth Green and Matt Senreich’s Emmy award winning stop-motion thrill ride, ROBOT CHICKEN at 9.30pm and followed by the AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE of MORAL OREL at 10pm. Don’t miss your weekly dose of animated mayhem and mischief from the cast of AVENUE Q. Super Sitcoms Weekdays from 3.30pm Weekday afternoons from 3.30pm get ready for THE COMEDY CHANNEL’s SUPER SITCOMS! We’ve picked the absolute cream of our sitcom crop to bring you a selection of fantastic entertainment. There’s no need to look elsewhere with this great line up - SCRUBS, MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE, GROUNDED FOR LIFE, MY NAME IS EARL, SOUTH PARK and the new kid on the COMEDY block, Chris Rock’s EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS. The Best of Super Sitcoms Fridays from 7.30pm But there’s more! We know too much fun is never enough, so to maximise your enjoyment our huge menu of sitcom favourites also starts your weekend off in the best possible way. Fridays from 7.30pm it’s THE BEST OF SUPER SITCOMS as the hits keep coming with SCRUBS, MY NAME IS EARL, MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE & GROUNDED FOR LIFE and EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS. And even better, SUPER SITCOMS extend to the weekend with SUPER SITCOMS SATURDAY (10am-12 Noon) and SUPER SITCOMS SUNDAY (2-4pm) All killer and no filler - it’s the biggest thing to happen to TV, well, since it was invented! Aussie Gold NEW TIMESLOT! - Moves to Saturdays in August, starts at 7.30pm 3 Last Updated: July 21 Each Saturday it’s 3 Oz-tastic hours of 24 carat AUSSIE GOLD, a television BBQ of the greatest and timeless Australian comedy favourites! W want you to have the best, so we’ve rounded up a selection of the finest including the landmark show, THE COMEDY COMPANY, JIMEOIN, BIG GIRLS BLOUSE (which includes the early years of Kath & Kim), FAST FORWARD’S FUNNIEST TV SEND UPS, Chris Lilley’s WE CAN BE HEROES, THE ADVENTURES OF LANO & WOODLEY, THE NORMAN GUNSTON SHOW, John Clarke’s THE GAMES, and joining this month the timeless comedy MOTHER & SON.