Comedy Central Launches The Creators Program, Taps Five Emerging Creators/Writers/Performers to Develop Digital Content

Comedy Central announced today the launch of The Creators Program, a new digital in-house initiative that taps into the #1 brand in comedy's rich history of identifying, developing and launching emerging talent. Spearheaded by Jennifer Danielson, SVP, Digital, Comedy Central, The Creators Program will be the anchor of the brand's digital strategy to expand its social footprint, connect daily with fans of comedy, and generate branded opportunities for advertising partners through the creation of provocative and culturally relevant original short-form content.

"The Creators Program is one of the most ambitious projects Comedy Central has undertaken in terms of size, scope and commitment in the digital and social arena," said Danielson. "Working with the creators as the foundation allows Comedy Central to stay true to its core in terms of talent and development while also leveraging the brand's enormous social footprint to reach and engage fans."

The inaugural Creators Program will be led by Nate Dern (Funny Or Die, Upright Citizens Brigade), who has been tapped as Head of Creative for The Creators Program. Dern will lead five creators who were hand selected from over 1,000 applicants after a rigorous audition process that kicked-off in February through a call for submissions via Comedy Central's social platforms. These creators all have audience-facing personalities with strong, authentic points of view. They will be writing, producing and starring in a daily reactive series and a weekly-scripted series with both living across Comedy Central's social platforms, most prominently Facebook and You Tube. The inaugural creators are Ryan Beck, Chris Cotton, Hanna Dickinson, Jordan Mendoza and Natasha Vaynblat (bios below).

Featured content to emerge from The Creators Program will include:

Daily Topical Show (title TBA): In this original, daily, pop-culture themed show, the five creators discuss the day's trending topics from their own various points of view, through a comedic lens.

Weekly Scripted Series (titled Comedy Central Central): Set INSIDE COMEDY Central's NY headquarters, this workplace scripted series follows the lives of the employees of the #1 brand in comedy at Comedy Central Central.

The Creators Program will also be a revenue-generating in-house agency which will develop internal- and external-facing branded integrations that will produce consumer awareness through daily interaction between the creators and fans via the daily pop-culture round table series the weekly, scripted workplace comedy set INSIDE COMEDY Central's New York offices, as well as organic brand-sponsored short-form video content.

The Creators Program Bios

Nate Dern (Head of Creative, The Creators Program): Nate Dern was previously a Senior Writer at Funny Or Die and the Artistic Director of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. His first book, Not Quite a Genius, a collection of comedic essays and stories, was recently published by Simon & Schuster. Nate's TV debut was as a contestant on the CW's Beauty and the Geek.

Ryan Beck: Ryan Beck is a comedian originally from St. Louis, Missouri. He has appeared on MTV's Girl Code, Comedy Central's THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART and has been a guest on The Bob & Tom Show and Sirius XM. Ryan has also written, produced and starred in his own web series "#RyanBeckShow" and the interactive short film We Need To Talk. Ryan regularly performs at New York Comedy Club, Stand Up NY, Caroline's on Broadway and his monthly show The Big Weird. He has completed two degrees from the University of Missouri, and advanced training at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City.

Chris Cotton: Born and raised in Philadelphia, Chris has been a regular on the stand-up comedy scene in the City of Brotherly Love. With his easy-going style, Chris' set topics tend to include pop culture, current events, his marriage to his lovely wife, and growing up in Philly. As a writer, Chris has written and acted in numerous sketches, television shows and contributed to developing commercial advertising.

Hanna Dickinson: Hanna is a New York based comedian most known for her appearance in a Korean weight-loss supplement commercial as the role of "before." She graduated from University of Southern California and recently wrote on season 3 of truTV's Comedy Knockout. Hanna performs regularly in clubs and bars around New York City.

Jordan Mendoza: Jordan Mendoza is a writer, comedian, and video maker based in New York City. He co-hosts the live show Drunk Science (featured in The New York Times & Gothamist) and was a finalist of the truTV Comedy Breakout Initiative. Time Out named him a "Rising New York comedian primed to break big." Jordan directs, writes, DPs, and edits videos with his groups jordymartybrooks and DUMB Video, and his animated short film was awarded final selection at the Mo't Moment Film Festival. His comedy has appeared on Funny Or Die and Reductress and was profiled by The Daily Dot.

Natasha Vaynblat: Natasha Vaynblat is a stand-up comedian, performer at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, and creator of the fashion parody Instagram @natashawearsclothes. In addition to making digital content for Above Average, UCB Comedy and IFC Comedy Crib, Natasha was most recently an NBC Late Night Writers Workshop 2018 Fellow. Natasha will be performing at Caroline's on Broadway this spring in the Best of the Breakout Artist Series.

Available on-air, online and on the go, Comedy Central gives viewers access to a world of super funny, provocative and relevant comedy that tells the funny truths of life, every day and everywhere. From award-winning late-night, scripted and animated series to stand-up specials, short-form and sketch, Comedy Central has it all. A subsidiary of Viacom Inc., Comedy Central is available to more than 300 million households in over 150 countries across the globe.

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