This Holiday Season, Comedy Has Feast of Stand-up Specials and Marathons! The Binging starts Dec. 6

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TORONTO (November 26, 2013) –  Comedy is donating the best laughs to those in need this holiday season with a smorgasbord of stand-up, sketch, and sitcom marathons. The festive programming kicks off on Friday, Dec. 6 with a Comedy tradition, A COLBERT CHRISTMAS: THE GREATEST GIFT OF ALL at 11 p.m. ET/PT. The chuckles continue throughout the season with fan favourite holiday specials JEFF DUNHAM’S VERY SPECIAL CHRISTMAS SPECIAL (Friday, Dec. 16) and A RUSSELL PETERS CHRISTMAS (Saturday, Dec. 14).

As well both naughty and nice viewers can expect a sleigh full of stand-up marathons including JUST FOR LAUGHS MARATHON (Sunday, Dec. 29), and the STAND UP MARATHON (Monday, Dec. 30), which features specials from Robin Williams, Bill Cosby, Kevin Hart, Wanda Sykes, and many more. Taking Comedy into the New Year are the ROAST MARATHON (Tuesday, Dec. 31 – Wednesday, Jan. 1) and the JFL: ALL ACCESS MARATHON (Friday, Jan. 3).

It’s a Christmas Marathon miracle! On the eve of Christmas Eve, viewers can TIS THE RED GREEN SEASON (Monday, Dec. 23) with seasonal specials, stand-up, and RED GREEN’S TOP 20 EPISODES. Then Christmas Eve kicks holiday spirit into high gear with seasonal episodes of some of the best sitcoms during the CHRISTMAS SPECIALS MARATHON (Tuesday, Dec. 24 beginning at 9 a.m. ET/PT), featuring episodes from SEINFELD, COMMUNITY, PARKS & RECREATION, THE BIG BANG THEORY and more. Viewers can spend two days unwrapping A VERY BIG BANG CHRISTMAS beginning at 11 a.m. ET/PT on Wednesday, Dec. 25 until Thursday, Dec. 26 at 12 a.m. ET/PT.

Viewers can also spend their holiday downtime catching up with marathons of fan-favourite shows – new and old. Comedy delivers THE BEST OF SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE MARATHON (Friday, Dec. 27), CORNER GAS MARATHON and INSIDE AMY SCHUMER MARATHON (Saturday, Dec. 28), KEY & PEELE MARATHON (Sunday, Dec. 29), and MATCH GAME MARATHON (Thursday, Jan. 2). Viewers who can’t get enough of Will Ferrell in pointy shoes and yellow tights can catch an all-day ELF MARATHON on Monday, Dec. 23 from 12 a.m. – 4 a.m. ET/PT.

**Media Note** – Photography is available online at BellMediaPR.ca/Comedy. Screeners available upon request. 

Below is a sample of Comedy holiday highlights. Click here for the complete schedule.

Friday, Dec. 6

A COLBERT CHRISTMAS: THE GREATEST GIFT OF ALL

Spend the holidays trapped in a cabin with Stephen Colbert! A COLBERT CHRISTMAS: THE GREATEST GIFT OF ALL is full of festive songs and guests, including Elvis Costello, Feist, Willie Nelson, and Toby Keith. The cabin door opens, Friday, Dec. 6 at 11 p.m. ET/PT.

Friday, Dec. 13

JEFF DUNHAM’S VERY SPECIAL CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

One of the most popular comedians in North America, Jeff Dunham and his pack of signature characters return to Comedy with JEFF DUNHAM’S VERY SPECIAL CHRISTMAS SPECIAL Friday, Dec. 13 at 11 p.m. ET/PT.

Saturday, Dec. 14

A RUSSELL PETERS CHRISTMAS

Tastier and more dangerous than a cup of spiked eggnog, this one-hour special features Brampton, Ontario’s favourite son paying tribute to the holidays with a mix of stand-up, sketch, stop-motion animation, and musical performances. Canadian icon Michael Bublé; the incomparable Pamela Anderson; SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE alumnus Jon Lovitz; and fellow Bramptonian, THE KIDS IN THE HALL’s Scott Thompson; help Russell celebrate the holidays Saturday, Dec. 14 at 11 p.m. ET/PT.

Monday, Dec. 23

‘TIS THE RED GREEN SEASON

Comedy paints the day Red and Green with a day full of specials with RED GREEN DOES NEW YEARS; IT’S A WONDERFUL RED GREEN CHRISTMAS; A VERY MERRY RED GREEN CHRISTMAS; RED GREEN’S WIT & WISDOM TOUR, RED GREEN’S HOW TO DO EVERYTHING TOUR; and RED GREEN’S TOP 20 EPISODES; all starting at 6 a.m. ET/PT.

ELF MARATHON

Comedy is buddying up to Buddy The Elf (Will Ferrell) with the ELF MARATHON starting at 12 a.m. ET/PT. Buddy, raised as one of Santa’s elves, learns of his true identity as a human and goes to New York City to meet his biological father, spreading Christmas cheer in a world of cynics.

Tuesday, Dec. 24

CHRISTMAS SPECIALS MARATHON

Comedy kicks the holiday cheer into high gear with a night full of Christmas-themed episodes of CORNER GAS, SEINFELD, COMMUNITY, PARKS & RECREATION, and THE BIG BANG THEORY. JEFF DUNHAM’S VERY SPECIAL CHRISTMAS SPECIAL and A RUSSELL PETERS CHRISTMAS add to the festivities, which kick off at 9 a.m. ET/PT.

Wednesday, Dec. 25 – Thursday, Dec. 26

A VERY BIG BANG CHRISTMAS

Viewers can eat turkey by the television and ditch the Boxing Day madness while catching up on the shenanigans of THE BIG BANG THEORY. Starting at 11 a.m. ET/PT on Wednesday, Dec. 25, and continuing through to Thursday, Dec. 26, Comedy airs a steady stream of episodes from Season 6.

Friday, Dec. 27

THE BEST OF SNL MARATHON

Viewers can spend Friday catching up on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE with THE BEST OF SNL MARATHON, starting with Part 1 at 12 a.m. ET/PT and Part 2 at 12 p.m. ET/PT.

Saturday, Dec. 28

CORNER GAS MARATHON

Comedy is heading to Dog River this holiday season and giving viewers a day to fill up on The Best of CORNER GAS, starting at 6 a.m. ET/PT.

INSIDE AMY SCHUMER MARATHON

Starting at 12 a.m. ET/PT, viewers can get real close to Amy Schumer with Season 1 of INSIDE AMY SCHUMER. The series features Schumer’s provocative and hilariously wicked mind, as she explores topics revolving around sex, relationships, and the general insanity that is life through a series of scripted vignettes, stand-up comedy, and man-on-the-street interviews.

Sunday, Dec. 29

JUST FOR LAUGHS MARATHON

With the year coming to an end, there’s no better way to spend a Sunday than reminiscing about “The Best of JFL” with the JUST FOR LAUGHS MARATHON. The laughs start at 6 a.m. ET/PT.

KEY & PEELE MARATHON

At 12 a.m. ET/PT, Comedy has assembled the best episodes from Seasons 1 through 3 for the KEY & PEELE MARATHON. Whether it’s satirizing the President, spoofing Nazis, or ordering up some soul food, Keegan-Michael Key & Jordan Peele showcase their chemistry, camaraderie, and unique point of view.

Monday, Dec. 30

STAND UP MARATHON

Beginning at 6 a.m. ET/PT, Comedy devotes an entire day to some of the greatest comedians of all time with the STAND UP MARATHON, featuring specials from Ellen Degeneres; Robin Williams; Roseanne Barr; George Carlin; Bill Cosby; Jeff Dunham; John Pinette; Gabriel Iglesias; Kevin Hart; Tracy Morgan; and Wanda Sykes.

Tuesday, Dec. 31 – Wednesday, Jan. 1

ROAST MARATHON

As 2014 approaches, Comedy passes the hours with a host of celebrities getting roasted with the ROAST MARATHON. Celebrities getting grilled are Joan Rivers; Bob Saget; Flavor Flav; Larry The Cable Guy; William Shatner; Roseanne; James Franco; Charlie Sheen; David Hasselhoff; and Donald Trump. The heat turns on at 1:30 p.m. ET/PT on Tuesday, Dec. 31 and burns into the New Year.

Thursday, Jan. 2

MATCH GAME MARATHON

Catch up on this retro classic game show with the MATCH GAME MARATHON on Thursday, Jan. 2 starting at 6 a.m. ET/PT. This Comedy original series marathon features the best blanking episodes from Season 2, with celebrity panelists including Russell Peters, Ice-T, Catherine O’Hara, and more!

Friday, Jan. 3

JFL: ALL ACCESS MARATHON

The holiday season wraps up with the ALL ACCESS MARATHON. Packed full of comedians, nerds, and Muppets, the ALL ACCESS MARATHON launches into laughter at 6 a.m. ET/PT with JFL: AMP’D, JFL: A TRIBUTE TO NERDS, JFL: ALL ACCESS – THE MUPPETS, and all of hilarity from Season 1 JUST FOR LAUGHS: ALL ACCESS.

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Canada’s first specialty comedy service, The Comedy Network airs comedy of all kinds, 24-hours-a-day, across multiple platforms, including a revolutionary broadband service at thecomedynetwork.ca. Launched in October 1997, Comedy broadcasts, uncut and uncensored, an eclectic mix of scripted, stand-up, sketch, improv, and animated comedy – as well as topical comedy talk shows, game shows and classic situation comedies. Offering an unrivalled slate of original Canadian programming, Comedy reinvests nearly 50 per cent of its revenues into home-grown productions. Comedy is a division of Bell Media, which is owned by BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE), Canada’s largest communications company, and is available in nearly six million households across the country.

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For more information, please contact:

Andrea Allen, The Comedy Network, 416.384.5375 or andrea.allen@bellmedia.ca

Jesse Wanagas, The Comedy Network, 416.384.3193 or jesse.wanagas@bellmedia.ca