English Entertainment
This summer, laugh out loud
MUMBAI: Ever since it first started in India almost two years ago, Comedy Central India has grown to be identified with fun, comedy and laughter. From popular sitcoms to exclusive show launches, the channel brings to its viewers some of the funniest shows from across the world.
This May, viewers can brace themselves for an all new level of comedy with the launch of nine new shows on the channel. Shows like the Golden Globe Award winner Brooklyn Nine-Nine, the latest season of the globally acclaimed Suits and the extremely popular game series Wipe Out will be a part of the new line up.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine is a workplace comedy that deals with a diverse group of detectives who are at the very edge of New York City. After the success of airing three back-to-back series of the legal drama, Comedy Central now brings the final six episodes of the third season of Suits. The channel will also Wipe Out, the game show series where the world’s largest obstacle course will be witnessed in which will see contestants making their way through a giant obstacle course to win a cash price.
In addition to the latest seasons of the critically acclaimed The Mindy Project, Suits, Wipe Out and Citizen Kane, Comedy Central India will also premiere the 2014 reboot of the classic The Kumars at No. 42. The Kumars at No. 42 has seen two Indian adaptations viz., The Batliwalas’ at No. 43 and Comedy Nights with Kapil. Another reboot that will soon be seen on Comedy Central would be the 2013 revival of Whose Line Is It Anyway? with the same cast returning joined by Aisha Tyler hosting. Another sitcom that will soon be seen on Comedy Central would be Sean Saves the World, starring Sean Hayes, from the EMMY Award nominated writer of Better Off Ted. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart will also return to Comedy Central India with brand new episodes.
Commenting on the all new prime time line-up, Viacom18 Media English entertainment SVP & GM, Ferzad Palia, said that the channel’s objective has always been to bring fresh and funny content to viewers. “Since launch we’ve set out to expand our programming line-up year-on-year by bringing the most popular and globally renowned shows, be it contemporary or classics. This May, we bring viewers an award winning, all new Prime time line-up that is sure to engage both loyal & new audiences”, said Palia in a statement.
Hitting off the summer cool is Wipe Out weeknights at 9 pm, starting 5 May. It will be followed by the season premiere of Suits from Mondays to Wednesdays at 10 p.m. followed by Sean Saves the World at 11 pm and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart at 11:30. The Kumars revival will start on 8 May airing Thursdays at 10 p.m. The following day will witness the season premiere of Citizen Kane airing Fridays at 10 p.m. The Golden Globe Award winning comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine will make its Indian premiere on 19 May, airing Mondays to Wednesdays at 10 pm, followed immediately by the season premiere of The Mindy Project airing Mondays to Wednesdays 10:30 p.m. The 2013 revival of the improvisation comedy series, Whose Line Is It Anyway? will make its Indian premiere on 31 May airing Saturdays at 9 pm
English Entertainment
Ellison takes his Paramount-Warner Bros case straight to theater owners
The Skydance chief goes to CinemaCon with promises and a skeptical crowd waiting
CALIFORNIA: David Ellison strode into a room packed with thousands of cinema owners and executives at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on Thursday and did something rather bold: he looked them in the eye and asked them to trust him.
The chief executive of Paramount Skydance vowed that his company would release a minimum of 30 films a year if regulators greenlight its proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, a deal that has made theater owners deeply, and loudly, nervous.
“I wanted to look every single one of you in the eye and give you my word,” Ellison told the crowd. “Once we combine with Warner Bros, we are going to make a minimum of 30 films annually across both studios.”
It was a confident pitch. Whether it landed is another matter. Cinema operators have already called on regulators to block the deal, and scepticism in the room was hardly concealed.
Ellison pushed back by pointing to recent form. Paramount, born from the merger of Paramount Global and Skydance Media last August, plans to release 15 films this year, nearly double the eight it put out in 2025. Progress, he argued, was already underway.
He also threw theater owners a bone they have long been chasing: all films, he pledged, would run exclusively in cinemas for a minimum of 45 days, drawing applause from a crowd that has spent years fighting for exactly that commitment across the industry.
“People can speculate all they want,” Ellison said, “but I am standing here today telling you personally that you can count on our complete commitment. And we’ll show you we mean it.”
Fine words. The regulators, however, will have the last one.
