As of November 2023[update], Comedy Central is available to approximately 68 million pay television households in the United States, down from its 2011 peak of 99 million households.[1]
The Comedy Channel's programs were broadcast from the HBO Downtown Studios at 120 East 23rd Street in Manhattan. The format prior to the merger with Ha! included several original and unconventional programs such asOnion World withRich Hall andMystery Science Theater 3000, as well as laid-back variety/talk shows hosted by comedians, includingThe Sweet Life withRachel Sweet,Night After Night with Allan Havey,Sports Monster, andThe Higgins Boys and Gruber, the latter of whom performed sketches in between showings of vintage television series likeSupercar,Clutch Cargo, andLancelot Link, Secret Chimp.
The standard format for The Comedy Channel's shows usually involved the various hosts introducing clips culled from the acts of stand-up comedians as well as classic comedies of the 1970s and 1980s, such asYoung Frankenstein andKentucky Fried Movie, presented in a style similar to music videos. In the early days, certain hours of the day when clips were shown without "host segments" were dubbedShort Attention Span Theater. In 1990, hosts under this title,Jon Stewart andPatty Rosborough, were introduced. ComedianMarc Maron also hosted the series.
While The Comedy Channel broadcast mostly low-budget original programming,[3] Ha!'s schedule featured sitcom and sketch comedy reruns (many of which had been previously licensed for sister networkNick at Nite) as well as complete 90-minute reruns ofSaturday Night Live from the sixth through 16th seasons.
After two years of limited distribution, the two channels merged into one, relaunching onApril 1, 1991, as CTV: The Comedy Network. On June 1, 1991, the network changed its name to Comedy Central[4] to prevent issues with theCanadian broadcast television networkCTV, which would eventually be its Canadian content partner throughThe Comedy Network when that channel started operations six years later.
Around this time, the network introduced their now-iconic logo, which is a globe showing theAmericas with tall buildings on theNorth American part and a black marquee ring (see below).
Comedy Partners was originally a partnership ofHome Box Office, Inc., the subsidiary ofTime Warner that owned The Comedy Channel and HBO's half and Viacom Hearty Ha! Ha!LLC, the subsidiary that owned Ha! and Viacom's half of the network during its first years on air.[5] Viacom bought out AOL Time Warner's half in April 2003 for $1.23 billion.[6] Despite HBO's exit from the venture, theParamount Media Networks division in charge of Comedy Central is still called Comedy Partners, currently being apartnership betweenViacom International, copyright holder of the company's assets and Viacom Hearty Ha! Ha! LLC, the subsidiary that owned Ha! and Viacom's original half of the network.[7]
From the late 1980s through the mid-1990s, much of theprogramming on Comedy Central and its predecessors consisted ofcomedy films, sitcom reruns, half-hour comedy specials, and clip shows featuring top comedians. Except for the cult favoriteMystery Science Theater 3000, the channel had a relatively small viewership. A notable early success wasPolitically Incorrect withBill Maher, which after showing promise on Comedy Central was quickly snapped up byABC. Additionally,The Daily Show had got its start with original hostCraig Kilborn, although it would take a few more years for the show to reach high popularity (and a shift toward a focus on political humor) with the introduction ofJon Stewart in 1999[8] (who was former co-host ofShort Attention Span Theater from 1991).
Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist was also a notable original program from this era, as well as the game showWin Ben Stein's Money. Successful non-original programming included Canadian comedy groupThe Kids in the Hall and British shows such as the British edition ofWhose Line Is It Anyway? (the predecessor of the American version, featuring much of the same American cast as would later be seen in the U.S.) and the sitcomAbsolutely Fabulous. Some later seasons ofAbFab, as it was informally known, were partially financed by Comedy Central. Comedy Central also had the national rights to broadcast reruns of Seattle'sAlmost Live! between 1992 and 1993.
The channel made a breakthrough whenSouth Park premiered in 1997. Being one of the first major basic cable shows to carry theTV-MA rating for mature audiences, the show was considered too controversial to be picked up by any mainstream network;[9] For example,Fox (known forThe Simpsons) refused to pick up the series due to the over-the-top offensive content at the time. Asword of mouth spread, the number of people who requested that Comedy Central should be added to their cable providers increased, and the channel became available in over 50% of American homes by 1998.
On October 30, 2000, Comedy Central introduced a modernized version of its globe logo, by straightening and modernizing the buildings as well as removing the transmitter and marquee. The management of the network said that the transmitter of the 1991 logo was said to "communicate the 1950s broadcast era". In 2002,Comedy Central Records was formed as a means of releasing albums by comedians that have appeared on the network.[10]
The success ofSouth Park, despite its mature content, encouraged the network to continue to push the limits on adult language. Every late Friday (early Saturday morning) and Saturday night (early Sunday morning) at 1 a.m.ET/PT, a movie, comedy special, or animated program is shown unedited for language as part of a block called theSecret Stash. It premiered on July 4, 2003, with the unedited cable television debut ofSouth Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut.[b] Though no language is censored on the Secret Stash, most nudity in the programs is still edited out, except for limited nudity allowed in animated programs such asDrawn Together, andrear nudity.
In late 2004, it was reported that the four highest-rated shows on Comedy Central were, in descending order,South Park,Chappelle's Show,The Daily Show andReno 911!. Shortly thereafter,Dave Chappelle backed out of the much-anticipated third season ofChappelle's Show.[16] Meanwhile,The Daily Show continued to climb in the ratings. In October 2005, on the occasion of a new three-year contract forSouth Park and the launch ofDaily Show spin-offThe Colbert Report, it was reported thatSouth Park andThe Daily Show were the two highest-rated shows on Comedy Central. Comedy Central chiefDoug Herzog was reported as saying that he hoped to continue to air new seasons ofSouth Park forever, and thatThe Colbert Report fulfilled a long-held plan to extend theDaily Show brand.
On April 5, 2006, in a controversial two-part episode arc titled "Cartoon Wars Part I" and "Cartoon Wars Part II",South Park touched the issue of therecent protest over the Danish cartoon drawings depicting the Muslim prophetMuhammad. The image of Muhammad did not appear in the episode. The episode also mocked fellow cartoonFamily Guy. On April 13, 2006, Comedy Central issued a statement[17] which appears to confirm that the network prohibited the show's creators from airing an image of Muhammad. The statement reads,"In light of recent world events, we feel we made the right decision." An anonymous source close to the show indicated[citation needed] thatSouth Park creatorsTrey Parker andMatt Stone were informed of the policy several weeks earlier and wrote this story arc in protest. This was a change of policy for Comedy Central, having allowedSouth Park to portray an image of Muhammad in an earlier episode, "Super Best Friends". Oddly enough, an image of Muhammad was still briefly visible in the opening credits of the "Cartoon Wars" episodes (the image had been there as a call-back to "Super Best Friends").
On January 15, 2007, MTV Networks International launched Comedy Central in Germany which is available for free throughout Europe. The channel airs 33 shows either dubbed in German or subtitled while also airing locally produced shows.[18] On April 30, Dutch channelThe Box was relaunched as the Dutch version of Comedy Central during theprimetime and overnight hours timesharing withNickelodeon.[19] On May 1, 2007, Comedy Central expanded to Italy, replacing Paramount Comedy.[20]
On June 27, 2007,CTVglobemedia-owned networksCTV andThe Comedy Network obtained the exclusive Canadian rights to the entire Comedy Central library of past and current programs on all electronic platforms, under a multi-year agreement withViacom, expanding on past programming agreements between the two channels. Canadian users attempting to visit Comedy Central websites were redirected to The Comedy Network's website. The Canadian channel retains its brand name, but the agreement is otherwise very similar to the earlier CTV–Viacom deal forMTV in Canada.[21] As of 2011, this geocaching no longer applies and both the Comedy Central and The Comedy Network websites can be accessed worldwide, except for videos which remain only accessible within each respective country.
In December 2007, Comedy Central picked up a show hosted byLewis Black calledLewis Black's Root of All Evil,[22] which debuted in March 2008. On January 9, 2008, it was announced the Comedy Central and MTV would allow the streaming its programs online for free starting in February that year.[23] On January 24, Scott Landsman became the Vice President of Original Programming and Development at the network.[24]
On March 27, 2008, the Swedish Radio and TV Authority approved an application from Comedy Central regarding being allowed to air television programs in Sweden. The grant allowed Comedy Central to broadcast on theterrestrial television network between January 1, 2009, and March 31, 2014, after which a new request had to be submitted to continue broadcasting.[25] Comedy Central's U.S. flagship network picked up a remake ofThe Gong Show hosted byDave Attell,[26] star of his former self-titled Comedy Central seriesInsomniac, which debuted in July 2008. Another new show calledReality Bites Back[27] premiered afterThe Gong Show with Dave Attell.
In June 2008, Comedy Central picked up the sketch comedy showImportant Things with Demetri Martin, which began airing in February 2009.[28] On April 1, 2009, Comedy Central began airing in New Zealand as channel 010 onSKY Digital. On April 6, Paramount Comedy in the UK and Ireland rebranded as Comedy Central. On April 7, 2009, it was announced Comedy Central would air new stand-up comedy specials starringChristopher Titus,Gabriel Iglesias,Pablo Francisco,Jim Breuer,Mitch Fatel and Pete Correale, and ventriloquistJeff Dunham.[29] An animated show entitledUgly Americans was also picked up by the network.[30] In 2009,The Goode Family premiered.[31] Also in 2009,Thomas Lennon announced via Twitter thatReno 911! had been canceled[32] after six seasons, much to fan disapproval. The network also played a role in the revival of the animated seriesFuturama, whichFox had canceled in 2003. New episodes began airing on Comedy Central in 2010. But in May 2013, Comedy Central released a statement saying that the contract betweenFuturama and Comedy Central would not be renewed and that the summer of 2013 would beFuturama's final season on the air. However, episodes continue to run weekly on Comedy Central.[33]
In 2009, Comedy Central launched a1080ihigh definitionsimulcast feed,[34] which was available on all major cable and satellite providers. The standard definition Comedy Central downscales the HD feed and broadcasts in 16:9 letterboxed to fit the 4:3 ratio. The network also introduced the Internet viral video reaction showTosh.0, hosted by comedianDaniel Tosh. During its second year in the summer of 2010, it became the most viewed show; overtakingThe Daily Show andThe Colbert Report for male audiences aged 18–49.[citation needed] Segments fromTosh.0's past seasons have received more views on Comedy Central'sYouTube channel than any other show.
South Park episodes "200" and "201" aired in April 2010, revisiting the issue of the Islamic religious figureMuhammad's perceived immunity to parody, for fear of violent retaliation. The Super Best Friends returned, but Muhammad was entirely covered by a black bar reading "CENSORED" through all of his screen time. By the second episode of the two-parter, Comedy Central decided to censor every instance of his name, as well as three entire monologues, from the end of the show. The monologues dealt with the subjects of censorship and intimidation but did not use Muhammad's name.Trey Parker andMatt Stone have since issued a statement to the press, confirming that the "bleeps" were added weeks after the show was finished and that Comedy Central has refused to let them post the original version ofSouth Park, in addition to retroactively removing the original "Super Best Friends" episode.Trey Parker threatened to quit the show after this incident.[35]
Comedy Central logo used from 2011 to 2018. The two Cs are still used in the 2018 logo.
On December 9, 2010, Comedy Central introduced a new logo for the network that launched on January 1, 2011, which left behind the previous theme of a world-sized "tower" broadcasting the network/skyscrapers, in favor of an image of two "C"'s, with one of them and the word "Central" turned upside-down within the new logomark. The new logo was designed to represent the network's unique brand of comedy (with some drawing comparisons to thecopyright symbol as inspiration for its design and use), and to provide the network with a logo that could be easily used across different platforms, such as social media. However, the "bars" version of the logo used from 2000 to 2011 was intended to be Comedy Central's new logo as part of a planned rebranding in 2010, and the network used it short-lived until the network started a logo nicknamed the "Comedymark".[36][37] The logo's resemblance to the one used by theFederal Communications Commission was also pointed out.[38][39] It went on to win several industry awards.[40]
The Polish version of the channel was the first international Comedy Central channel to switch to the new logo on February 20, 2011; followed by the Hungarian version on April 1, 2011. Versions of the channel inGermany and theNetherlands soon followed on October 1, 2011. Comedy Central New Zealand rebranded in April 2012.Viacom 18 launched the channel in India on January 23, 2012.[41]StarHub launched Comedy Central Asia in Singapore on November 1, 2012; the channel was added to its Basic Entertainment Upsize group.[42]
In 2012, Atom.com (formerly AtomFilms) was absorbed into Comedy Central.
On April 1, 2012, Comedy Central launched a Russian-language version of Comedy Central branded asParamount Comedy in Russia.[43] On March 1, 2023, «Paramount Comedy» was renamed to «Comedy Central» and broadcasts inCIS countries (except Russia and Belarus).[44][45]
In November 2013,Bill Cosby's first special,Far From Finished, in 30 years premiered on Comedy Central.[46]
On October 21, 2013, the network premiered a nightly comedy-game show series@midnight hosted byChris Hardwick.@midnight served as an expansion to the network's nightlylate-night programming. Due to low ratings, it was canceled on August 4, 2017, with the show airing its 600th and final episode as an hour-long special.[47]
On May 14, 2014, Comedy Central expanded to Spain, replacing Paramount Comedy.[48]
In 2014, it was announced that Stephen Colbert would leave Comedy Central to hostThe Late Show onCBS, following the retirement ofDavid Letterman, the first host ofLate Show. Thefinal episode ofThe Colbert Report aired on Comedy Central on December 18, 2014, after nine years and a total of 1,447 episodes. The final episode ofThe Colbert Report was watched by 2.481 million viewers, making it the most-watched episode ever in the show's history. The finale was the most-watched cable program of the night in its time slot, beatingThe Daily Show which was seen by 2.032 million viewers.[49][50]The Colbert Report was replaced on Comedy Central byLarry Wilmore fromThe Daily Show, who began hosting his seriesThe Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore on January 19, 2015. The show aired until August 18, 2016, when it was canceled due to low ratings.[51] On February 10, 2015, Jon Stewart also announced his retirement and that he would also leave the network andThe Daily Show after 16 years. Stewart's final episode aired on August 6, 2015, andTrevor Noah succeeded Stewart as new host on September 28, 2015.[52]
On January 5, 2017, the Finnish Government granted television programming licenses in the UHF band. The grant applied by Nickelodeon International Ltd allows Comedy Central to broadcast from May 17, 2017, to January 10, 2027.[53]
On November 16, 2017, Comedy Central launched a Ukrainian-language version of Comedy Central branded as Paramount Comedy in Ukraine. Ukrainian-language version of the channel is operated under the license purchased.[54]
In July 2018, Comedy Central refreshed its branding, maintaining the existing double-C logomark, but introducing a new in-house typeface, and changing the network'scorporate color toamber (while also using other colors to denote flagship programs).[55]
On February 11, 2019,Jimmy Kimmel announced on his talk showJimmy Kimmel Live! thatCrank Yankers would be revived on Comedy Central for a fifth 20-episode season.[56] Kimmel's brotherJonathan Kimmel served as showrunner and executive producer. The fifth season premiered on September 25, 2019.[57]
On May 1, 2019, the Viacom-ownedPluto TV launched two Comedy Central networks titledComedy Central Pluto andComedy Central Stand Up. The former airs classic Comedy Central original series, while the latter airs the network's stand-up specials.[58] On December 15, 2020, theComedy Central Stand Up channel was removed, and a newComedy Central Animation channel was added.[59]
In 2020, Comedy Central began shifting its programming towards adult animation, with series pickups ofBeavis and Butt-Head, a reboot ofThe Ren & Stimpy Show, andDaria spin-offJodie (later changed to a television movie); the first of these titles initially premiered onParamount+. The network also launched a new weekday animation block initially branded asAnimation Contamination, featuring reruns ofSouth Park,Futurama andThe Cleveland Show.[61]
Comedy Central has been a target of criticism from someadvocacy groups, including theParents Television and Media Council (PTMC). The PTMC criticizes their programming not merely for mature content, but also for what they perceive asbigotry andblasphemy.[67] The PTMC has used their criticisms against Comedy Central for their support of theFamily and Consumer Choice Act of 2007, which would require Americancable television companies to allow their subscribers to choose which channels they subscribe to and impose the same content prohibitions that are already in place on broadcast television.[68] The PTMC has also persuaded some advertisers to lower their interest for the channel.[69] PTMC founder and former presidentL. Brent Bozell III said the channel has managed "to reach the top of its field in spite of – or, better put, because of – the network's sheer lack of comedic talent" by its "extensive reliance on shocking or disgusting humor."[70]
On November 5, 2007, an open letter[71] was written byVideoSift to protest the blocking of Comedy Central's embedded video content for non-American viewers.
On April 21, 2010, Comedy Centralcensored theSouth Park episode "201" in response to adeath threat issued by users of aradical Muslim website over the episode's planned depiction of theIslamic prophetMuhammad, which led several newspaper columnists to condemn the network's actions as tantamount to abetting terrorism. As a rare result in the series' history, "201" andthe episode that preceded it were heavily edited and are never aired as reruns.
Comedy Central Extra is a British and Irish comedy-based television channel, and the sibling channel of Comedy Central inthe UK and Ireland. It was originally launched in 2003 as Paramount Comedy 2, before adopting its current name in 2009.
In 2011, Extra was launched in the Netherlands. The channel ceased broadcasting on 31 December 2022; with its programming moved tothe Netherlands version of Comedy Central.
The Polish version of Comedy Central Extra is owned byParamount Networks EMEAA andPolsat. It first launched in 2010 as a programing block onVH1 Poland; it become a full TV channel on 12 June 2012.
^Contains a 24/7 network, airing Comedy Central shows (such asReno 911!,Drunk History,Daria, andSouth Park), as well as a 24/7 South Park Channel (available in different territories)
^Paramount+ handles the domestic streaming rights, whileHBO Max handles the international streaming rights to the film.
^latimes.com New life for 'Goode Family' – Canceled last season by ABC, the series is getting another chance to catch on, this time via Comedy Central.
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