The New York Comedy Festival Announces Additional Shows To 2012 Schedule

NEW YORK, Sept. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The New York Comedy Festival (NYCF), in association with COMEDY CENTRAL, today announced over 70 additional shows taking place at more than 25 venues throughout New York City, to its 2012 schedule, highlighted by two events in partnership with The Paley Center for Media: a reunion of the creative minds behind the landmark TV series The Ben Stiller Show and a Conversation with Denis Leary in celebration of his new publication Merry F***in' Christmas. In addition, the NYCF's New York's Funniest Stand-Up competition, brought to you in partnership with JetBlue, and the festival's Comics To Watch program will offer emerging comics a platform to showcase their work to industry professionals in front of a live audience.

The Ben Stiller Show debuted on MTV in 1990 and ran for thirteen episodes before moving to Fox for twelve episodes in 1992, but the show's impact on television comedy cannot be underestimated.  A unique blend of a sketch comedy and backstage intrigue, The Ben Stiller Show launched the careers of Stiller, Judd Apatow, Bob Odenkirk, Janeane Garafolo, Andy Dick, Jeff Kahn and Rob Cohen each of whom will participate in the 20^th anniversary reunion at the Paley Center to share memories and contemplate the show's legacy as one of the true classics of television comedy on Saturday, November 10.

Denis Leary's classic holiday song Merry F***in' Christmas has finally been transformed into an interactive children's picture book… for adults.  With brand new verses and original stop-motion-animation art, the dirty ditty will arrive on the shelves just in time to ruin yet another holiday. Leary joins the NYCF for a Conversation with Kate Snow about this comedy classic at The Paley Center for Media on Friday, November 9.

Continuing the festival's commitment to discovering and showcasing new talent, the festival will host the Comics To Watch program, a live stand-up show featuring the best up-and-coming young comedians from across the country, chosen by the festival organizers and COMEDY CENTRAL for their unique strengths in writing, delivery and stage persona. The NYCF will also host New York's Funniest Stand-Up, a competition, brought to you in partnership with JetBlue, that will see finalists judged by a panel of industry experts.

A few of the other NYCF shows announced today are:

• "Celebrity Autobiography"
• "You Made It Weird" with Pete Holmes Live Podcast
• "An Evening with…" Series – One Comic, One Show, One Hour
• "Nikki & Sara & Friends"
• "Crowd Work with Colin Quinn"

For a complete list of festival shows visit:  http://www.nycomedyfestival.com.  

"Each year we strive to present the very best and most diverse comedy programming, says Caroline Hirsch founder and owner of Carolines on Broadway and the New York Comedy Festival."  In addition to the major theater shows we're producing, we also have a wide variety of specialty shows, conversations, competitions, podcasts, and other great events taking place.   We're proud and thrilled to include among those events a 20th anniversary reunion of "The Ben Stiller Show" and a conversation with Denis Leary, as part of this year's programming."

The 2012 NYCF is presented in association with COMEDY CENTRAL. Now in its ninth year, the festival is produced by Carolines on Broadway. Sponsors are Citibank, Klondike ®, JetBlue and SVEDKA Vodka. The media sponsors are: New York Post, Timeout New York, Variety, and the Village Voice.

ABOUT THE NEW YORK COMEDY FESTIVAL:

Now in its ninth year, the New York Comedy Festival is produced by Carolines on Broadway in association with COMEDY CENTRAL.  The festival has featured the country's top comedians, including Louis C.K., Bill Maher, Ricky Gervais, Kathy Griffin, Dane Cook, Sarah Silverman, Aziz Ansari, Wanda Sykes, and Joel McHale, to name a few.   In 2007, the festival launched the "Stand-Up for Heroes" event to benefit The Bob Woodruff Foundation, which has featured performances by Robin Williams, Jon Stewart, Jerry Seinfeld, Lewis Black, Ricky Gervais, Conan O'Brien, and Bruce Springsteen.

ABOUT COMEDY CENTRAL:

Available on-air, online and on-the-go, COMEDY CENTRAL (www.cc.com) is the #1 brand in comedy and is owned by, and is a registered trademark of, Comedy Partners, a wholly-owned unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA and VIAB).  For up-to-the-minute and archival press information and photographs visit COMEDY CENTRAL's press Web site at www.cc.com/press and follow us on Twitter @ComedyCentralPR for the latest in breaking news updates, behind-the-scenes information and photos.

SOURCE COMEDY CENTRAL Corporate Communications

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