@midnight Will Air Live Via Periscope at SXSW
It’s a big day for comedy festival lovers, South by Southwest® (SXSW) has announced the 2016 comedy lineup! SXSW, an annual film, interactive media, and music festival taking place in mid-March in Austin, Texas, continues to grow in both scope and size every year, and this year is no exception.
In true “the best of the best” SXSW fashion, every performer on the list has comedy fans gushing “Oh my god, he/she is hilarious!” But some of the most exciting news is that late-night TV show history will be made. According to EW, Comedy Central’s @midnight With Chris Hardwick, will air a full episode live via Periscope from Austin, Texas, co-hosted by EW. This will be the first time a late-night show will be broadcast exclusively on the video streaming app.
The contestants will feature two comedians you know and love; Doug Benson and Arden Myrin. The last contestant you may not know… yet. Chris Cubas. Cubas is from Austin and won the @midnight’s #PointsMe challenge last year. He’ll be the first “fan panelist” to compete on the show. Comedy Central CMO, Walter Levitt, raved “There’s no better place than SXSW to host the first-ever live Periscope episode of TV’s most social late night show.” And, he’s right, this show is sure to be a hoot for both the at home and studio audience. Those not in Austin can watch on their browser, or by downloading the app on the App Store or >Google Play.
Other touching news in today’s announcement is that this year’s SXSW Comedy is dedicated to comedian Andy Ritchie. Andy passed away this past November, from a brain tumor, despite the enormous outpouring of support from fellow comedians Brendon Walsh, Colton Dunn, and Nick Swardson who set up a gofundme campaign, and Tosh.0 that contributed nearly $50k towards Andy’s medical expenses. The campaign sadly came to an end when Walsh posted “unfortunately all the money in the world can’t save our friend at this point.” SXSX is honoring Andy by offering a free download of his album, saying “a longtime friend and an unforgettable performer whose work we’re excited to share with everyone; head to sxsw.com/andyritchiefor a of his album.”
In addition to announcements above, SXSW Comedy will feature live performances, screenings, and podcast tapings, as well as Showtime special tapings and the world premieres of the documentary Thank You Del Close, Mike Birbiglia’s movie Don’t Think Twice, and Pee-wee’s Big Holiday. To see the the full schedule and more info on the festival, head over to SXSW Comedy’s website.
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Renee Colvert
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