Comedy Central Roast is a series of celebrity roast specials that air on the American television channel Comedy Central . The first official Comedy Central Roast premiered on August 10, 2003. The network typically airs one or two roasts every year. Eight to ten people are invited, and they each roast one another before finally roasting the titular subject of the roast. As of 2019, seventeen roasts have aired. Targets of roasts have included musicians, actors and comedians. Since 2010, Comedy Central affiliates outside the United States have occasionally produced their own roasts; twelve such roasts have aired so far, in five countries.
86-551: Between 1998 and 2002, the American television channel Comedy Central produced and televised the annual roasts of the New York Friars Club , which the club hosted since 1950. After the original five-year agreement expired, the network began producing its own roasts in the same spirit. The first, featuring roastee Denis Leary (and produced by Leary's production company, Apostle), aired on August 10, 2003. His roast
172-597: A Half Men character Charlie Harper was killed off the series (hit by a train), Sheen arrived on stage riding on a replica locomotive. In the UK and Turkey, on the network which Two and a Half Men airs, the roast aired directly after Kutcher's first Two and a Half Men episode. This was O'Neal's final television appearance before his death on November 29, 2011. Roasters: Ellen Barkin , Wayne Brady , Carrie Fisher , Gilbert Gottfried, Seth Green , Anthony Jeselnik , Jeff Ross , Katey Sagal , and Amy Schumer , and also featured
258-645: 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. 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's corporate color to amber (while also using other colors to denote flagship programs). On February 11, 2019, Jimmy Kimmel announced on his talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live! that former show Crank Yankers will be revived on Comedy Central for
344-456: A charity race at Irwindale Speedway to promote the film Redline , using a Ferrari Enzo owned by Daniel Sadek. During a practice run, Griffin accidentally hit the gas pedal instead of the brake and lost control of the Enzo, crashing hard into a concrete barrier. He walked away unscratched, but the $ 1.5 million supercar was badly damaged. Griffin later criticized reporters who suggested the crash
430-572: A condition that Comedy Central refused. The following roasts aired on international Comedy Central channels: Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan . The channel carries comedy programming in the form of both original, licensed, and syndicated television series, stand-up comedy specials, and feature films . As of November 2023 , Comedy Central
516-739: A fair amount of success in standup, Griffin became legendary at The Comedy Store for stopping in to do guest sets on open mic nights and staying up on stage long enough to tire the audience out for the hapless budding comic who had to follow him. Griffin has appeared in films such as The Meteor Man (1993), The Walking Dead (1995) “David E. Talbert: A Fool & His Money” (1997), Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999), Double Take (2001), Undercover Brother (2002), John Q (2002), Scary Movie 3 (2003), Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (2005), Norbit (2007), and Urban Justice (2007). Griffin has appeared on television shows such as Malcolm & Eddie (1996–2000) and Chappelle's Show in
602-512: A fifth 20-episode season. The new season will include pranks on social media and other platforms. Kimmel's brother Jonathan Kimmel will serve as showrunner and executive producer. On May 1, 2019, the Viacom-owned Pluto TV launched two Comedy Central networks titled Comedy Central Pluto and Comedy Central Stand Up . The former airs classic Comedy Central original series such as Reno 911! , Crank Yankers and more, while
688-502: A negative impact on their daughters. Sheen's famous family members, Emilio Estevez and Martin Sheen , were unable to attend as they were promoting their film The Way , although Sheen appeared in a commercial for the roast, spoofing his film Apocalypse Now . A montage of Sheen's film and television work were featured, though for legal reasons, clips of his tenure on Two and a Half Men were never used. In reference to how his Two and
774-763: A pre-recorded segment. Notable audience members: Maria Shriver , Patrick Schwarzenegger , Nick Swardson , Fred Savage , Chad Lowe , Kate Walsh , Robbie Williams , Brandon Flowers , Marlee Matlin Roasters: Cybill Shepherd , Edward Norton , Nikki Glaser , Lil Rel Howery , Dom Irrera , Kevin Pollak , Dennis Rodman , Martha Stewart and Jeff Ross . Demi Moore also made a surprise appearance to roast Willis, her ex-husband. Roasters: Robert De Niro , Blake Griffin , Caitlyn Jenner , Chris Redd , Jeff Ross , Ken Jeong , Nikki Glaser , Caroline Rhea , Adam Carolla . Ireland Baldwin spoke at
860-884: A pre-taped appearance. Notable audience members : Doug Benson , Larry's wife Cara Whitney, Gary Valentine , and John Melendez . Roasters: Carl Reiner , Gilbert Gottfried, Mario Cantone, Whitney Cummings , Tom Arnold , Brad Garrett , Robin Quivers , Greg Giraldo and Jeff Ross . Donald Trump made a pre-taped appearance and Melissa Rivers came from the audience to roast her mother. Notable audience members: Melissa Rivers, Michael C. Hall , Jennifer Carpenter , Alan Thicke , T.J. Miller , Chris Pratt and Anna Faris . Roasters: Jeff Ross , Pamela Anderson , Lisa Lampanelli, Hulk Hogan , Jerry Springer , Whitney Cummings, Greg Giraldo, George Hamilton , and Gilbert Gottfried, Sharon Osbourne and Piers Morgan made pre-taped appearances, and William Daniels reprised his role as
946-426: A reboot of The Ren & Stimpy Show , and Daria spin-off Jodie (later changed to a television movie); the first of these titles initially premiered on Paramount+ . The network also launched a new weekday animation block initially branded as Animation Contamination, featuring reruns of South Park , Futurama and The Cleveland Show . In turn, Comedy Central has decreased its live-action slate; with
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#17327974845541032-400: A relatively small viewership. A notable early success was Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher , which after showing promise on Comedy Central was quickly snapped up by ABC . Additionally, The Daily Show had got its start with original host Craig 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
1118-931: A show hosted by Lewis Black called Lewis Black's Root of All Evil , 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. On January 24, Scott Landsman became the Vice President of Original Programming and Development at the network. 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
1204-433: A statement saying that the contract between Futurama and Comedy Central would not be renewed and that the summer of 2013 would be Futurama ' s final season on the air. However, episodes continue to run weekly on Comedy Central. In 2009, Comedy Central launched a 1080i high definition simulcast feed, which was available on all major cable and satellite providers. The standard definition Comedy Central downscales
1290-584: A style similar to music videos. In the early days, certain hours of the day when clips were shown without "host segments" were dubbed Short Attention Span Theater . In 1990, hosts under this title, Jon Stewart and Patty Rosborough , were introduced. Comedian Marc Maron also hosted the series. While The Comedy Channel broadcast mostly low-budget original programming, Ha!'s schedule featured sitcom and sketch comedy reruns (many of which had been previously licensed for sister network Nick at Nite ) as well as complete 90-minute reruns of Saturday Night Live from
1376-1589: A surprise appearance by Barr's ex-husband Tom Arnold . Notable audience members: Sarah Chalke , Natasha Leggero , Blake Anderson , Wayne Federman , Alicia Goranson , Michael Fishman , Frances Fisher , Tyler, the Creator , Traci Lords , Chris Colfer , Caroline Rhea and Fred Willard . Roasters: Aziz Ansari , Bill Hader , Jonah Hill , Nick Kroll , Natasha Leggero , Jeff Ross , Andy Samberg , and Sarah Silverman . Notable audience members: DeAndre Jordan , Blake Anderson , Jillian Bell , Adam DeVine , Andy Dick , Chris Farren , Wayne Federman , Dave Franco , Jennie Garth , Brett Gelman , Eiza González , Anders Holm , Gabriel Iglesias , Kelley Jakle , Samm Levine , Maribeth Monroe , Matthew Morrison , Amy Poehler , Stephen Rannazzisi , June Diane Raphael , Retta , Horatio Sanz , Paul Scheer , and Kate Walsh . Roasters: Hannibal Buress , Pete Davidson , Chris D'Elia , Will Ferrell as Ron Burgundy , Natasha Leggero , Ludacris , Shaquille O'Neal , Jeff Ross , Snoop Dogg , and Martha Stewart . Notable audience members: Scooter Braun , Dave Chappelle , Tito Ortiz , John Legend , Chrissy Teigen , Kendall Jenner , Wayne Federman , Jack Gilinsky , Blake Anderson , Katharine McPhee , Kourtney Kardashian , Kate Walsh , Chris Paul , Trevor Noah , Sarah Tiana , Larissa Marolt , Carly Rae Jepsen , Jaden Smith , Gloria Allred and Kyle Kinane . In an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show , Ellen DeGeneres revealed that she
1462-601: A surprise guest appearance by Jim Breuer , with pre-taped appearances by Michael J. Fox , Peter Gallagher , Gilbert Gottfried as Denis' Irish Wolfhound, Joe Mantegna , Conan O'Brien , Rene Russo , and Christopher Walken . Roasters: Steve Bridges as US President George W. Bush , Nick DiPaolo, Christian Finnegan , Greg Giraldo , Gilbert Gottfried as Jeff's cow, Heidi Klum , Lisa Lampanelli , Denis Leary, Jay Mohr , Patrice O'Neal , Colin Quinn, Anna Nicole Smith , and G. E. Smith . A special, pre-taped, guest appearance
1548-627: A target of criticism from some advocacy groups , including the Parents Television and Media Council (PTMC). The PTMC criticizes their programming not merely for mature content, but also for what they perceive as bigotry and blasphemy . The PTMC has used their criticisms against Comedy Central for their support of the Family and Consumer Choice Act of 2007 , which would require American cable television companies to allow their subscribers to choose which channels they subscribe to and impose
1634-409: Is a division and Viacom Hearty Ha! Ha! LLC , the subsidiary that owned Ha! and Viacom's original half of the network. From the late 1980s through the mid-1990s, much of the programming on Comedy Central and its predecessors consisted of comedy films , sitcom reruns, half-hour specials, and clip shows featuring comedians. Except for the cult favorite Mystery Science Theater 3000 , the channel had
1720-617: Is available to approximately 68,000,000 pay television households in the United States-down from its 2011 peak of 99,000,000 households. On November 15, 1989, Time-Life , the owners of HBO , launched The Comedy Channel as the first cable channel devoted exclusively to comedy-based programming. On April 1, 1990, Viacom (who owned MTV , VH1 , and Nickelodeon ) launched a rival channel called Ha! that featured reruns of situation comedies and some original sketch comedy . The Comedy Channel's programs were broadcast from
1806-482: Is censored on the Secret Stash, most nudity in the programs is still edited out, except for limited nudity allowed in animated programs such as Drawn Together , and rear 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 and Reno 911! . Shortly thereafter, Dave Chappelle backed out of
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#17327974845541892-488: The 2012 Aurora, Colorado shooting . The joke was not in the broadcast program. During the roast of Justin Bieber , multiple jokes about the passing of Paul Walker , co-star and close friend of fellow roaster Ludacris , were cut from the official broadcast. Roasters: Mario Cantone , Lenny Clarke , Dane Cook , Nick DiPaolo , Ed Lover with Doctor Dré , Adam Ferrara , Colin Quinn , Don Gavin , and Gina Gershon , and
1978-461: The Commonwealth of Independent States . The international channels are overseen by Paramount International Networks . Comedy Central Extra is a British and Irish comedy-based television channel, and the sibling channel of Comedy Central in the 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
2064-405: The copyright 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
2150-456: The primetime and overnight hours timesharing with Nickelodeon . On May 1, 2007, Comedy Central expanded to Italy, replacing Paramount Comedy. On June 27, 2007, CTVglobemedia -owned networks CTV and The 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 with Viacom , expanding on past programming agreements between
2236-547: The terrestrial television network between January 1, 2009, and March 31, 2014, after which a new request had to be submitted to continue broadcasting. Comedy Central's U.S. flagship network picked up a remake of The Gong Show hosted by Dave Attell , star of his former self-titled Comedy Central series Insomniac , which debuted in July 2008. Another new show called Reality Bites Back premiered after The Gong Show with Dave Attell . In June 2008, Comedy Central picked up
2322-590: 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. On April 30, Dutch channel The Box was relaunched as the Dutch version of Comedy Central during
2408-832: The "Comedymark". The logo's resemblance to the one used by the Federal Communications Commission was also pointed out. It went on to win several industry awards. 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 in Germany and the Netherlands soon followed on October 1, 2011. Comedy Central New Zealand rebranded in April 2012. Viacom 18 launched
2494-1342: The "love child" of James T. Kirk and Spock ), Farrah Fawcett , Greg Giraldo , Lisa Lampanelli, Artie Lange , Nichelle Nichols , Patton Oswalt , Kevin Pollak , Jeff Ross , George Takei , Betty White , and Fred Willard performing the roasting duties. Special, pre-taped, guest appearances were made by Leonard Nimoy , Sandra Bullock , Ben Stiller , Sarah Silverman , Jimmy Kimmel , and Clint Howard . Notable audience members: Andy Daly , Adrian Zmed , David Carradine , Roger Corman , Brent Spiner , Jeri Ryan , René Auberjonois , Rosalind Chao , Mark Valley , Carrie Fisher , Scott Hamilton , Brad Paisley , Reno 911! stars Cedric Yarbrough and Niecy Nash , and Brian Posehn . Roasters: Ice-T , Jimmy Kimmel , Snoop Dogg , Greg Giraldo, Patton Oswalt, Lisa Lampanelli, Jeff Ross , Carrot Top , Sommore , and Brigitte Nielsen . Notable audience members : Ron Jeremy , comedian Luenell , comedian Red Grant, comedian Godfrey , Scott Adsit from 30 Rock , Nicole "Coco" Austin , Kordell Stewart , Derek Parker, Moonlite BunnyRanch owner Dennis Hof , Wayne Federman , Alexis Arquette , and Chyna . Roasters: Susie Essman , Greg Giraldo, Brian Posehn , Jim Norton , Jeff Garlin as fictional Full House executive producer Saul Schwartz (though he broke character at
2580-499: The Alec Baldwin roast, the most frequent roaster has been Jeff Ross , who has appeared in all but the first two roasts, for a total of 15, and has yet to be a roastmaster. Greg Giraldo has the second-most appearances, with a total of eight roasts from 2005 until his death in 2010 (nine including the 2002 New York Friars Club roast of Chevy Chase). As of 2019, Seth MacFarlane is the most frequent roastmaster with three turns in
2666-564: 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 as Onion World with Rich Hall and Mystery Science Theater 3000 , as well as laid-back variety/talk shows hosted by comedians, including The Sweet Life with Rachel Sweet , Night After Night with Allan Havey , Sports Monster , and The Higgins Boys and Gruber ,
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2752-655: The HD feed and broadcasts in 16:9 letterboxed to fit the 4:3 ratio. The network also introduced the Internet viral video reaction show Tosh.0 , hosted by comedian Daniel Tosh . During its second year in the summer of 2010, it became the most viewed show; overtaking The Daily Show and The Colbert Report for male audiences aged 18–49. Segments from Tosh.0 ' s past seasons have received more views on Comedy Central's YouTube channel than any other show. South Park episodes " 200 " and " 201 " aired in April 2010, revisiting
2838-475: The Muslim prophet Muhammad . The image of Muhammad did not appear in the episode. The episode also mocked fellow cartoon Family Guy . On April 13, 2006, Comedy Central issued a statement 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
2924-767: The Netherlands. The channel ceased broadcasting on 31 December 2022; with its programming moved to the Netherlands version of Comedy Central. The Polish version of Comedy Central Extra is owned by Paramount Networks EMEAA and Polsat . It first launched in 2010 as a programing block on VH1 Poland ; it become a full TV channel on 12 June 2012. Comedy Central Family was a Hungarian family-based television channel with air comedy and animation for family. The brand presented on 2008 on Netherlands in 2010 brand presented on Poland as block on VH1 Poland in 2011, as channel who replaced VH1 Poland but VH1 Poland continue to broadcast as night programing block. On 24 April 2012, VH1 Poland
3010-439: The U.S. version, featuring much of the same American cast as would later be seen in the U.S.) and the sitcom Absolutely Fabulous . Some later seasons of AbFab , as it was informally known, were partially financed by Comedy Central. Comedy Central also had the national rights to broadcast reruns of Seattle's Almost Live! between 1992 and 1993. The channel made a breakthrough when South Park premiered in 1997. Being one of
3096-748: The cancellations of Drunk History and Tosh.0 . South Side and The Other Two would move to the Warner -owned HBO Max , while a second season of Alternatino with Arturo Castro was slated to premiere on Quibi , but has since failed to materialize after the platform folded. Current original programming seen on Comedy Central includes its two longest-running series, The Daily Show and South Park ; Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens ; adult animated comedies such as Digman! and Beavis and Butt-Head (which originally premiered on MTV and later Paramount+ ); and acquired programming such as The Office and Seinfeld . Comedy Central has been
3182-409: 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
3268-584: The channel in India on January 23, 2012. StarHub launched Comedy Central Asia in Singapore on November 1, 2012; the channel was added to its Basic Entertainment Upsize group. 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 as Paramount Comedy in Russia. On March 1, 2023, «Paramount Comedy»
3354-520: The dais, referencing the pejorative voicemail he left her in 2007, as did a number of other roasters. Lady Gaga appeared in a pre-taped segment to promote Exploring the Arts. Triumph the Insult Comic Dog also appeared. Notable audience members : David Spade , Larry David , Dakota Johnson . The table below features any roasters who have appeared on multiple Comedy Central Roasts . As of
3440-578: The end), Gilbert Gottfried, Jon Lovitz , Norm Macdonald , Cloris Leachman , and Jeff Ross . Pre-taped appearances were delivered by Sarah Silverman , Lewis Black , and Don Rickles . Notable audience members: Full House co-stars Lori Loughlin , Jodie Sweetin , and Dave Coulier along with Growing Pains star Alan Thicke , Rex Lee of Entourage , Quantum Leap and Star Trek: Enterprise star Scott Bakula , Executive Jordan Levin , actors Carlos Jacott and Jonathan Silverman , Wayne Federman , and Alonzo Bodden . Norm Macdonald's set
3526-491: The first major basic cable shows to carry the TV-MA rating for mature audiences, the show was considered too controversial to be picked up by any mainstream network; For example, Fox (known for The Simpsons ) refused to pick up the series due to the over-the-top offensive content at the time. As word of mouth spread, the number of people who requested that Comedy Central should be added to their cable providers increased, and
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3612-549: The introduction of Jon Stewart in 1999 (who was former co-host of Short Attention Span Theater from 1991). Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist was also a notable original program from this era, as well as the game show Win Ben Stein's Money . Successful non-original programming included Canadian comedy group The Kids in the Hall and British shows such as the UK edition of Whose Line Is It Anyway? (the predecessor of
3698-459: The issue of the Islamic religious figure Muhammad '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
3784-500: The latter airs the network's stand up specials. Later on December 15, 2020, the Comedy Central Stand Up channel was removed and a new Comedy Central Animation channel was added. On December 4, 2019, Viacom re-merged with CBS Corporation to form ViacomCBS (now Paramount Global ). In 2020, Comedy Central began shifting its programming towards adult animation, with series pickups of Beavis and Butt-Head ,
3870-435: The latter of whom performed sketches in between showings of vintage television series like Supercar , Clutch Cargo , and Lancelot 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 as Young Frankenstein and Kentucky Fried Movie , presented in
3956-432: 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, beating The Daily Show which was seen by 2.032 million viewers. The Colbert Report was replaced on Comedy Central by Larry Wilmore from The Daily Show , who began hosting his series The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore on January 19, 2015. The show aired until August 18, 2016, when it
4042-406: The much-anticipated third season of Chappelle's Show . Meanwhile, The Daily Show continued to climb in the ratings. In October 2005, on the occasion of a new three-year contract for South Park and the launch of Daily Show spin-off The Colbert Report , it was reported that South Park and The Daily Show were the two highest- rated shows on Comedy Central. Comedy Central chief Doug Herzog
4128-478: The network during its first years on air. Viacom bought out AOL Time Warner's half in April 2003 for $ 1.23 billion. Despite HBO's exit from the venture, the Viacom Media Networks division in charge of Comedy Central is still called Comedy Partners, currently being a partnership of Paramount Global Content Distribution , the operating subsidiary of Paramount of which Paramount Media Networks
4214-526: The network introduced their now-iconic logo, which is a globe showing the Americas with tall buildings on the North American part and a black marquee ring (see below). Comedy Partners was originally a partnership of Home Box Office, Inc. , the subsidiary of Time 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
4300-492: 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 the Secret Stash . It premiered on July 4, 2003, with the unedited cable television debut of South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut . Though no language
4386-604: The network's actions as tantamount to abetting terrorism. As a rare result in the series' history, "201" and the episode that preceded it were heavily edited and are never aired as reruns. Since the early 2000s, Comedy Central has expanded globally with localized channels in Europe (including the United Kingdom ), India , Southeast Asia , Latin America , Australia and New Zealand , Middle East , Africa Spain and in
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#17327974845544472-573: The release of his box set, One Hell of a Ride , but was ultimately cancelled, according to Jeff Ross. A roast for the musician Kid Rock was announced in November 2010 and scheduled for January 2011, but was later replaced by the Donald Trump roast. Rock's roast was rescheduled for August 2011, but was replaced again, this time by Charlie Sheen's roast. Kid Rock agreed to doing the roast if it were filmed in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan ,
4558-460: The roastees have included Denis Leary , Jeff Foxworthy , Pamela Anderson , William Shatner , Flavor Flav , Bob Saget , Larry the Cable Guy , Joan Rivers , Rob Reiner , David Hasselhoff , Donald Trump , Charlie Sheen , Roseanne Barr , James Franco , Justin Bieber , Rob Lowe , Bruce Willis , and Alec Baldwin . The success of South Park , despite its mature content, encouraged
4644-530: The role. The following table features the venues where multiple Comedy Central Roasts were filmed. As of the Alec Baldwin roast, the Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, California has hosted the most roasts, namely the roasts of Pamela Anderson, David Hasselhoff, Charlie Sheen, Justin Bieber, and Rob Lowe. In 2008, a roast for the musician Willie Nelson was planned to coincide with
4730-471: The same content prohibitions that are already in place on broadcast television. The PTMC has also persuaded some advertisers to lower their interest for the channel. PTMC founder and former president L. 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." On November 5, 2007, an open letter
4816-469: The show after this incident. 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
4902-406: The show indicated that South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt 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 allowed South 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
4988-466: The show. The monologues dealt with the subjects of censorship and intimidation but did not use Muhammad's name. Trey Parker and Matt 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 of South Park , in addition to retroactively removing the original "Super Best Friends" episode. Trey Parker threatened to quit
5074-522: The sixth through 16th seasons. After two years of limited distribution, the two channels merged into one, relaunching on April 1 , 1991, as CTV: The Comedy Network . On June 1, 1991, the network changed its name to Comedy Central to prevent issues with the Canadian broadcast television network CTV , which would eventually be its Canadian content partner through The Comedy Network when that channel started operations six years later. Around this time,
5160-618: The sketch comedy show Important Things with Demetri Martin , which began airing in February 2009. On April 1, 2009, Comedy Central began airing in New Zealand as channel 010 on SKY 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 starring Christopher Titus , Gabriel Iglesias , Pablo Francisco , Jim Breuer , Mitch Fatel and Pete Correale, and ventriloquist Jeff Dunham . An animated show entitled Ugly Americans
5246-428: The skit "World Series of Dice" as Grits n' Gravy. Griffin performed on two tracks from Dr. Dre 's 1999 album, 2001 , and the intro track from The D.O.C. 's 1996 album Helter Skelter . He has also appeared on commercials for Miller Beer 's Man Laws . In 2011, Comedy Central released Griffin's stand-up comedy special You Can Tell 'Em I Said It on DVD. In December 2019, his stand-up comedy special, E-Niggma ,
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#17327974845545332-539: The topics. Although Charlie Sheen initially agreed to no restrictions on his roast, he later said during an interview with Jay Leno that he requested jokes about his mother be edited out of the broadcast. During Sheen's roast, Steve-O made the joke "The last time this many nobodies were at a roast, at least Great White was playing". This was a reference to The Station nightclub fire in West Warwick, Rhode Island , that killed 100 people on February 20, 2003. It
5418-577: 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 for MTV in Canada . 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
5504-454: The voice of KITT . Notable audience members: John Slattery , Craig Robinson , Christina Milian , Hasselhoff's two daughters, Hayley and Taylor, Hulk Hogan's son, Nick , and fellow Baywatch alumni Alexandra Paul , Nicole Eggert , Gena Lee Nolin , Traci Bingham , Angelica Bridges and Jeremy Jackson . To close the show, Hasselhoff sang "This Is The Moment" from the musical Jekyll & Hyde , which he formerly starred in. The DVD
5590-511: Was 16 years old. They divorced in 1997. He married his second wife, Rochelle, in 2002 and divorced in 2009. On September 8, 2011, he married his third wife, Nia Rivers. However, they filed for divorce after one month of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences . They were officially divorced six months later in 2012. He married his fourth wife, Ko Lee Griffin, on July 27, 2017, in Las Vegas, Nevada. In March 2007, Griffin participated in
5676-513: Was a publicity stunt. During the sexual assault allegations on Bill Cosby , Griffin suggested that Cosby was the victim of a conspiracy to destroy his image and claimed, without specification, that several other prominent African-American men had been victims of similar conspiracies. Griffin has also been called out by the Sikh community for referring to an elderly Sikh man as " Osama Bin Laden " in
5762-471: Was also picked up by the network. In 2009, The Goode Family premiered. Also in 2009, Thomas Lennon announced via Twitter that Reno 911! had been canceled after six seasons, much to fan disapproval. The network also played a role in the revival of the animated series Futurama , which Fox had canceled in 2003. New episodes began airing on Comedy Central in 2010. But in May 2013, Comedy Central released
5848-408: Was announced that Stephen Colbert would leave Comedy Central to host The Late Show on CBS , following the retirement of David Letterman , the first host of Late Show . The final episode of The Colbert Report aired on Comedy Central on December 18, 2014, after nine years and a total of 1,447 episodes. The final episode of The Colbert Report was watched by 2.481 million viewers, making it
5934-576: Was approached by Braun, Bieber's manager, to participate in the roast, but refused because she did not want to be mean to Bieber. Jokes referencing the death of Ludacris' Fast & Furious co-star Paul Walker were cut out of the television broadcast. Additionally, a joke by Hannibal Buress which called the roast an "extremely transparent attempt to be more likable in the public eye" was cut. Roasters: Jimmy Carr , Ann Coulter , Pete Davidson , Nikki Glaser , Jewel , Ralph Macchio , Peyton Manning , Rob Riggle , Jeff Ross . Amy Poehler appeared in
6020-691: Was canceled due to low ratings. On February 10, 2015, Jon Stewart also announced his retirement and that he would also leave the network and The Daily Show after 16 years. Stewart's final episode aired on August 6, 2015, and Trevor Noah succeeded Stewart as new host on September 28, 2015. 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. On November 16, 2017, Comedy Central launched
6106-488: Was discharged within months for using marijuana. After six months in jail on an assault conviction following a fight, he made ends meet dancing and painting houses. At a comedy club open-mic night in 1989, Griffin hopped onstage on a bet and earned a standing ovation with family stories. He talked his way into stand-up gigs around town and in L.A. One popular bit was his gay version of tough-guy comic Andrew Dice Clay , who later hired Griffin to open for him. Once he achieved
6192-520: Was formed as a means of releasing albums by comedians that have appeared on the network. By 2003, Viacom gained full ownership of Comedy Central, and since 2003, Comedy Central has created a tradition of roasting comedians in the style of the New York Friars' Club roasts. During these roasts, friends of the roastee, along with other comedians, take turns making fun of the roastee, the other roasters, and occasionally audience members. So far,
6278-416: Was made by Dr. Phil . Roasters: Courtney Love , Adam Carolla , Bea Arthur , Nick DiPaolo, Greg Giraldo, Elon Gold , Eddie Griffin , Lady Bunny , Lisa Lampanelli, Tommy Lee , Jeff Ross , Sarah Silverman , and Andy Dick , with pre-taped appearances by David Spade and Hugh Hefner . Notable audience members: Anna Nicole Smith , Doug Benson , and Wayne Federman . Roasters: Andy Dick (as
6364-404: Was notable in that it avoided racy content and featured intentionally cheesy and antiquated jokes . He later revealed that the material was taken from a book given to him by his father that contains jokes meant to be told at retirement parties circa 1950, and that when the roast's showrunner asked him to be "shocking," he decided to go in the opposite direction of the usual roast humor. Artie Lange
6450-466: Was ranked at number 62 on Comedy Central 's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time. Griffin was born in Kansas City, Missouri , and was raised by his single mother, Doris Thomas, a phone company operator. His family were Jehovah's Witnesses . In 1984, at 16 years old, he moved to Compton, California , to live with his cousins. He later became a father and enlisted in the U.S. Navy but
6536-608: Was relaunched as again as channel on 2 May 2012. VH1 Block removed on Comedy Central Family Poland. On 3 November 2017, channel launched on Hungary as replacement of VIVA Hungary. On 31 May 2018, the channel stopped broadcast in Netherlands but the following programs moved to Comedy Central Extra . On 22 February 2018, the block Comedy Central Extra was launched on Comedy Central Family Poland as night programing block on 8pm CET. In 2019, Comedy Central Family changed their logo to yellow. On 3 March 2020, Comedy Central Family Poland changed name to Polsat Comedy Central Extra. Until 2024, Hungary
6622-1152: Was released in January 2011. Roasters: Whitney Cummings, Anthony Jeselnik , Larry King , Lisa Lampanelli, Marlee Matlin (interpreted by interpreter Jack Jason & a surprise appearance by Gilbert Gottfried), Jeff Ross , Snoop Dogg , and Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino . Notable audience members: Melania Trump , Ivanka Trump , Ice-T , Russell Simmons , Chrissy Teigen , John Legend , Lindsay Lohan , Alexis Arquette , Joel Madden and David Foster . Roasters: Anthony Jeselnik , Jon Lovitz , Patrice O'Neal , Jeff Ross , Amy Schumer , William Shatner, Steve-O , Mike Tyson , and Kate Walsh . Notable audience members: Brooke Mueller , Aaron Paul , Slash , Maria Menounos , Corbin Bernsen , Duane Chapman , Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon , Michael Boatman , Kristin Cavallari , Ciara Hanna , Wayne Federman , Richard Kind , Ron Jeremy , and Patrick Warburton . The roast
6708-466: Was released on Showtime . Griffin and his mother got into an argument at his 20th birthday party when she accused him of stealing jewelry from her, which Griffin denied doing. Afterward, Griffin did not see his mother for four years until he moved back to Los Angeles, California , in March 1992, to be closer with his family when his mother was injured in a car accident. Griffin has been married four times. He married his first wife, Carla in 1984 when he
6794-420: Was removed from broadcast on Steve-O's request. During Denis Leary 's roast, Lenny Clarke , a friend of Leary's, said there was a carton of cigarettes backstage from Bill Hicks with the message, "Wish I had gotten these to you sooner." This joke was cut from the final broadcast. During Roseanne Barr 's roast, Jeff Ross compared fellow roaster Seth Green to James Holmes , the mass murderer responsible for
6880-579: Was renamed to «Comedy Central» and broadcasts in CIS countries (except Russia and Belarus). On October 21, 2013, the network premiered a nightly comedy- game show series @midnight hosted by Chris Hardwick . @midnight served as an expansion to the network's nightly late-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. On May 14, 2014, Comedy Central expanded to Spain, replacing Paramount Comedy. In 2014, it
6966-513: Was reported as saying that he hoped to continue to air new seasons of South Park forever, and that The Colbert Report fulfilled a long-held plan to extend the Daily 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 the recent protest over the Danish cartoon drawings depicting
7052-477: Was scheduled but did not show at the roast because he had entered a rehabilitation center. It was later revealed that Saget was highly upset by the jokes aimed at Candace Cameron and the Olsen twins . The DVD was released on December 30, 2008. Roasters: Nick DiPaolo, Jeff Foxworthy , Greg Giraldo , Toby Keith , Jeff Ross , Reno Collier , Maureen McCormick , Warren Sapp , and Gary Busey . Bill Engvall made
7138-661: Was taped in Los Angeles on September 10, 2011, and was broadcast nine days later, exactly one hour after the premiere of Ashton Kutcher 's first episode on Two and a Half Men where he replaced Sheen. Slash made an appearance playing his guitar during Sheen's entrance. Harvey Levin from TMZ.com was scheduled to appear but ended up not doing so. During an interview on The View , Sheen's ex-wife Denise Richards stated that she had not been invited to appear and, while she thought roasting her ex-husband could be humorous and that he would be able to take it, she feared it would have
7224-516: Was the most watched program in the channel's history, excluding episodes of South Park . Some roastees have stated that certain topics are off limits. Pamela Anderson , for example, prohibited jokes about her Hepatitis C infection. Joan Rivers disallowed jokes about her daughter Melissa , William Shatner asked that the death of his wife not be mentioned, and Donald Trump prohibited jokes about him not being as wealthy as he claims he is. Others, like David Hasselhoff , have imposed no limits on
7310-1178: Was the only country to still have the Comedy Central Family brand. The channel closed on July 6, 2024 due to low ratings, ending the CC Family brand. Eddie Griffin Edward Rubin Griffin (born July 15, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is best known for portraying Eddie Sherman in the sitcom Malcolm & Eddie , the title character in the 2002 comedy film Undercover Brother , and Tiberius Jefferson "T.J." Hicks in Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999) and Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (2005). He also portrayed Lester Matthews in John Q. (2002), Orpheus in Scary Movie 3 (2003), Pope Sweet Jesus in Norbit (2007), and voiced Richard Pryor on Black Dynamite (2012–2015). Griffin
7396-514: Was written by VideoSift to protest the blocking of Comedy Central's embedded video content for non-American viewers. On April 21, 2010, Comedy Central censored the South Park episode " 201 " in response to a death threat issued by users of a radical Muslim website over the episode's planned depiction of the Islamic prophet Muhammad , which led several newspaper columnists to condemn
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