Comedy Wields 'Flaming Sword’
by Mike Reynolds -- Multichannel News, 3/17/2008
Comedy Central is ramping up its development of originals, ordering a new live-action series and a handful of specials for 2008-09.
The MTV Networks outlet said it has ordered Krod Mandoon and The Flaming Sword of Fire, tracking the escapades of a clueless freedom fighter, the last refuge in a medieval struggle. The series is expected to debut early next year.
The network also plans three new one-hour stand-up specials this year, showcasing John Oliver, Carlos Mencia and Brian Regan.
A number of shows in the pilot/presentation stage include:
- An untitled animated Snoop Dogg project giving viewers the perspective of a 15-year-old growing up in the hood of 1980s Long Beach, Calif.;
- A sketch show from Andy Richter;
- America’s Biggest Idiot, featuring three guys competing in off-the-wall physical challenges;
- David Allen Grier’s Chocolate News, a fake magazine show in which the In Living Color alum covers urban pop culture topics;
- Gay Robot, now an animated scripted series, comprising two 11-minute stories per episode about a gay robot;
- The Scariest Show on Television, where twisted comedy writers helm an Alfred Hitchcock Presents-type show;
- Search and Destroy, a no-holds-barred scavenger hunt, executive-produced by Troy Miller (HBO’s Flight of the Conchords); and
- Speed Freaks, a scripted show about two small town losers who blow up a local meth lab and are now on the run from a redneck mafia hit man.
Other projects in development are an untitled show from Mad TV’s Bobby Lee; the animated Gypsy Cab; Michael and Michael Have Issues, featuring disputes Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter have with each another and the world; and Reality Bites, a spoof on reality shows.
