TBS Films Three Specials At Chicago's 'Just For Laughs' Festival

Grammy(R)-winning trio Lady Antebellum and a special guest appearance by Jerry Seinfeld are two of the latest additions to the lineup of specials being taped for TBS at the second-annual edition of TBS PRESENTS A "VERY FUNNY" FESTIVAL: JUST FOR LAUGHS this June in Chicago. Three specials - Ellen's Somewhat Special Special, Cedric The Entertainer's Urban Circus and Team Coco presents Conan's Writers Live hosted by Andy Richter - are set to be taped at the Festival for premiere on TBS. A fourth special for TBS, How to Build the Perfect Grown Up, is slated to be screened at the Festival prior to its on-air premiere. TBS and Just For Laughs' Festival in Chicago takes place Tuesday, June 14 - Saturday, June 19, with all four specials slated to premiere on TBS the following week.

Ellen Degeneres is back by popular demand for Ellen's Somewhat Special Special, her fourth spectacular variety special for TBS. Packed with amazing music, magic and more, the show is slated to feature performances by Grammy-winning country trio Lady Antebellum; top Australian magician James Galea, who combines illusions and comedy; the eye-popping, six-person team The Catwalk Acrobats, making their U.S. television debut; gymnast, acrobat and vertical-pole performer Dominic Lacasse, also known as The Flag Man; and the Japanese group Kabuki Expert, appearing in the U.S. for the first time to perform theviral-video sensation Matrix Ping Pong.

Ellen's Somewhat Special Special will also include standup comedy and an audience Q&A session with Ellen. DJ Nick Cannon will provide the beats for the production, which is scheduled to tape at the Chicago Theatre Wednesday, June 16, at 7:30 p.m. (CT). The one-hour special will premiere Sunday, June 27, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT) on TBS. Ellen's Somewhat Special Special is being produced by Telepictures Productions, with Mary Connelly, Ed Glavin and Andy Lassner, whose credits include DeGeneres' Emmy-winning talk show, The Ellen Degeneres Show, serving as executive producers.

Cedric the Entertainer will preside as ringmaster overCedric The Entertainer's Urban Circus, which will now feature Russell Peters, Sommore and JB Smoove. In addition, the producers of the special are thrilled to announce that Jerry Seinfeld will make a special guest appearance on stage with Cedric the Entertainer in what is sure to be a show-stopping and hilarious segment. The show will serve as a comedic journey through the influences that have transformed Cedric in to the king of comedy that he is today. Included will be sketches, music and urban-influenced visual performances, all coming together to form a seamless, unexpected and hysterical evening of comedy. Reginald T McCants, Chicago native and the musical director for Bernie Mac's HBO series Midnight Mac, will be joining Cedric on stage as the show's musical director and bandleader. Cedric the Entertainer's Urban Circus will be produced by Just For Laughs TV, with Cedric the Entertainer and Eric Rhone serving as executive producers. It is set to tape at the Chicago Theatre Friday, June 18, at 8 p.m. and premiere on TBS Wednesday, June 23, at 10 p.m. (ET/PT).

The newly announced How to Build the Perfect Grown Up special, which comes to TBS from Happy Madison Productions, celebrates the big-screen summer comedy Grown Ups. Stars Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Kevin James, David Spade and Rob Schneider will appear in the previously taped, one-hour special. The comedy stars will trace their own lives and the evolution of their individual comic styles. It includes an in-depth, laugh-filled discussion with the stars of Grown Ups, as well as comments, photos, film and video from family, friends and colleagues in the comedy industry. The special will reveal what the guys were like when they were young, tracing the development of their "funny" from childhood to stardom. It will include stories about how they got their starts in the industry, how they first met and how they have changed since becoming "grown-ups." How to Build the Perfect Grown Up is set for a sneak peek at the Festival. It will premiere on TBS Thursday, June 24, at 10 p.m. (ET/PT). The movie debuts in theaters nationwide Friday, June 25.

As previously announced, Andy Richter, Reggie Watts and several of Conan O'Brien's writers will team up for the one-hour special Team Coco presents Conan's Writers Live hosted by Andy Richter. This show has previously played to sold-out audiences in Los Angeles and is coming to Chicago for one night only. Richter was O'Brien's sidekick on Late Night with Conan O'Brien from 1993 to 2000, before venturing out to star in Andy Richter Controls the Universe and Andy Barker, P.I., and then returning to join O'Brien as announcer for The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. The evening will also feature the musical stylings of comedian Watts, who is opening for O'Brien on The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour. Team Coco presents Conan's Writers Live hosted by Andy Richter will be taped at the Bank of America Theater on Thursday, June 17, at 7 p.m. (CT), and premiere on TBS Sunday, June 27, at 10 p.m. (ET/PT).

Tickets for all Festival performances are available at all Ticketmaster locations, online at http://www.ticketmaster.com or by phone at 800/745-3000. Tickets for Festival events will also be available at respective venue box offices. A complete schedule of announced performances and other Festival information are available at http://www.justforlaughschicago.com.

About the Festival

Five nights. Seventeen venues. More than 100 comedians. The laughter returns to Chicago this summer with the second annual edition of this week-long explosion of comedy, scheduled to take place Tuesday, June 15 - Saturday, June 19, 2010. Emmy(R)-winner Ellen Degeneres will tape her fourth variety show for TBS, Ellen's Somewhat Special Special. Also taping for TBS, Cedric the Entertainer will host Cedric The Entertainer's Urban Circus, and Andy Richter and Reggie Watts will be among the talents as Team Coco presents Conan's Writers Live hosted by Andy Richter.

Other Festival performers include comedy superstars Russell Peters, Denis Leary, Greg Giraldo, Jim Norton, Aziz Ansari, Patton Oswalt, Tim Meadows, Adam Carolla, JB Smoove as his character Leon Black, Rob Corrdry and his new series Childrens Hospital and George Wendt, Tim Kazurinsky and other comedy greats from the Second City class of '79. Also on the roster is the wildly popular Lucha VaVOOM show.

The Festival once again brings together the unprecedented comedy forces of TBS and Montreal's Just For Laughs. Sites slated to be home to this year's Festival include the Chicago Theatre, the Bank of America Theater, Rosemont Theatre, Park West, the Vic Theatre, Mayne Stage, Second City, The Red Bar Comedy Club and a roster of venues featuring grassroots programming.

For the Festival, TBS and Just For Laughs are also collaborating with the largest independent promoter in the United States, Chicago-based Jam Productions, LTD and Outback Concerts.

About the Just For Laughs Group

Founded in 1983, the Just For Laughs Group's growth is concentrated on four major focal points: Festivals (in Montreal, Toronto, Chicago and Paris); television production (most notably Gags seen in 135 countries and on 95 airlines); live shows (Canadian tour dates for Jerry Seinfeld, Jeremy Hotz, John Pinette, Louis C.K., the Capital One Just For Laughs Comedy Tour, North American dates for Family Guy Live!, Arturo Brachetti's show Change in London); and talent management. Its inaugural Montreal Festival 27 years ago is now the world's largest and most prestigious comedy event. The Group has offices in Montreal, Paris, Los Angeles, Toronto and London.

About TBS

TBS, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., is television's top-rated comedy network. It serves as home to such original comedy series as My Boys, Are We There Yet?, Tyler Perry's House of Payne, Meet the Browns, as well as the upcoming Neighbors from Hell; late-night series like Lopez Tonight, starring George Lopez, and the eagerly anticipated new series starring Conan O'Brien; hot contemporary comedies like The Office and Family Guy; and specials like Funniest Commercials of the Year; blockbuster movies; and hosted movie showcases. TBS also presents major live events, including star-studded comedy festivals.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.