LOS ANGELES – June 5, 2020 – TBS is serving up the ultimate comedic match with a seven-episode greenlight for Tournament of Laughs, set to premiere on Sunday, June 21 at 10:00pm ET/PT. Hosted by Jason Sudeikis (We’re The Millers, Saturday Night Live), the series will present 32 comedians facing off in a hilarious, single-elimination bracket-style tournament, with each episode featuring multiple match-ups. The comics will go head-to-head virtually to out-funny one another with Sudeikis acting as the master of ceremonies and providing color commentary.
“We may be without some of our favorite sports right now but we can still partake in some fierce rivalries” said Brett Weitz, General Manager of TNT, TBS, and truTV. “These comics promise to bring the funny each week, but the audience will get to decide who gets the last laugh.”
Featured comedians include Jeff Ross, Margaret Cho, Gilbert Gottfried, Judah Friedlander, Michael Rapaport, Jim Norton, Fortune Feimster, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, Natasha Leggero, Cameron Esposito, Godfrey, The Sklar Brothers, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Josh Wolf, Clayton English, Yamaneika Saunders, Gina Yashere, Tim Dillon, Moshe Kasher, Jessica Kirson, Paul Rodriguez, Sarah Tiana, Matteo Lane, Beth Stelling, Vladimir Caamano, Ian Edwards, Aida Rodriguez, Megan Gailey, Preacher Lawson, Piff The Magic Dragon and an additional two performers to come. Each week the comics will create, produce, self-film, and star in their own videos – from stand-up sets to song parodies and everything in-between. After the episode has aired, the home audience will decide who moves forward, via phone and online voting, with the winning comics returning for the next round. The final episode will feature an expert comedy panel charged with crowning a winner in the championship match-up for the last laugh and bragging rights as tournament champion.
In addition, a charitable donation will be made to the United Nations Foundation’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund and Black Lives Matter.
Tournament of Laughs is produced by The Jay & Tony Show with Jay Blumenfield, Tony Marsh and Pip Wells serving as executive producers. Wells will also serve as showrunner.