Comedy Central Picks up Two Series, Orders Five Pilots in Their 2018-2019 Development Slate

Comedy Central announced on Tuesday the development lineup for their 2018-2019 slate. The announcement is highlighted by two new series coming to the network, Alternatino with Arturo Castro and This Week at the Comedy Cellar. The network has also agreed to develop five new pilots, including one with comedian David Spade.

The sketch comedy show Alternatino with Arturo Castro was created by Latino actor Arturo Castro (Broad City, Narcos). The comedic actor will star in the new show, which features sketches inspired by Castro’s life as a millennial living in the United Sates. Castro serves as executive producer alongside Nick Jasenovec, Sam Saifer, David Martin, Jon Thoday and Richard Allen-Turner, with Jasenovec directing. In regards to Alternatino with Arturo Castro, executive vice presidents and co-heads of talent and development at Comedy Central, Sarah Babineau and Jonas Larsen, said in a statement:

Arturo’s abilities as an actor knows no bounds, which combined with his stellar comedic instincts and unique point of view, makes Alternatino with Arturo Castro a potent and hilarious series in the grand tradition of Comedy Central’s sketch shows.

Joining the sketch show on Comedy Central’s development slate is This Week at the Comedy Cellar, an inside look into the stand-up comics of New York’s Comedy Cellar. The half-hour show will highlight the top comics who’ve performed at the Cellar during a given week, as well as a behind-the-scenes look at the “comics’ table,” where comedians will get a chance to discuss socially relevant topics and the origins of their jokes. The show promises to be filled with topical jokes, straight out of today’s headlines, filtered through the country’s top comedians. Babineau and Larsen shared their excitement about their Comedy Cellar partnership in the announcement, saying:

We’re thrilled to partner with the Comedy Cellar and provide fans of comedy a look at the hot button issues of the week through the lens of the best comics in the world straight from the legendary and beloved NYC comedy club.

Comedy Central’s developmental slate also includes five new pilots, including:

– Mall Town USA, an animated series that follows a 13-year-old girl, finding herself in the microcosm of culture that is the American mall. Written by Broad City and Brooklyn Nine-Nine writer, Gabe Liedman.

– Awkwafina, starring comedic rapper Awkwafina (Nora Lum), in a show inspired by the musician’s experiences as a 20-something living in Queens. Musical set pieces will accompany the narrative of this quirky new show, written by Lum and Teresa Hsiao.

– Robbie, a scripted comedy about a church-going basketball coach who wants to restore the former glory of his rural Georgia town by following in his father’s footsteps. Rory Scovel stars in the show, returning after co-starring alongside Amy Schumer in her new film I Feel Pretty.

– Kevin vs. Josh, a show based on the real-life friendship of comedians Kevin Barnett and Josh Rabinowitz (Broad City, The Carmichael Show), childhood friends who have been reunited by failure and who do everything they can to make sure their lives are better than the other.

– Verified with David Spade, a weekly comedy series that will feature comedian David Spade filtering pop culture and news through the lens of social media. Spade will perform in front of a small studio audience, relying on his legendary wit and sarcasm to take viewers on a tour of the best and worst social media content of every week.

With a development slate like this one, Comedy Central is sure to continue their longstanding tradition of pushing the comedic envelope, at least for the following year to come.

The network’s upcoming comedy festival, Clusterfest, returns this summer to the excitement of many fans, with an updated lineup featuring John Mulaney, Nick Kroll and the Wu-Tang Clan. Find out more about the festival right here.