Paramount orders Montreal series

The Paramount Comedy Channel has ordered 13 hours of stand-up from Montreal's Just For Laughs festival.

It has commissioned 26 half-hour episodes of Just For Laughs, Just For Paramount;
repackaging footage from the event's 21-year history

The shows promise rarely-seen performances from the likes of Dennis Leary, Lee Evans, Frasier's David Hyde Pierce and Ardal O'Hanlon.

The Just For Laughs Comedy Festival is the world's biggest comedy festival and has played host to the likes of Jerry Seinfeld, Jim Carrey, Eddie Izzard, Kelsey Grammer, Jerry Lewis, Rowan Atkinson and Chris Rock.

The first festival in 1983 involved 16 artists and an audience of 5,000. This year there are 2,000 artists performing to an audience expected to approach 1.7 million.

The new show debuts on Paramount Comedy 2 on May 4 and will air at 10.40pm Tuesdays to Saturdays.

Published: 24 Apr 2004