US network snaps up stand-ups' chat show

A backstage chat show in which top comedians trade stories and jokes about life on the road has been snapped up by prestigious American cable broadcaster Showtime.

Behind The Green Room features British-based comics such as Eddie Izzard, Brendon Burns, Jim Jeffries and Reginald D. Hunter – as well as top US acts including Roseanne Barr, Drew Carey, Sandra Bernhard and Andy Dick.

Although no British broadcaster has yet agreed to screen the show, the US deal could make this more likely, as well as paving the way for a possible DVD release.

The series is hosted by Paul Provenza, director of the comedy documentary The Aristocrats, and was filmed at thes Just For Laughs comedy festivals in Montreal and Chicago.

He said: ‘The Green Room is a safe space for comedy, and a dangerous place for convention. If you’re not easily offended and can roll with whatever happens when there are no rules, then being behind that door can be the time of your life.’

Behind The Green Room promises ‘personal anecdotes, intimate thoughts and spur-of-the-moment, no-holds-barred comedy that — until now– only happens when comedians get together in private’ and will air over six half-hour episodes on Showtime sometime in 2010.

Published: 7 Oct 2009