Your Election Night Guide to TV Comedy Coverage of Decision 2016

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On Tuesday, November 8th, the United States will elect a new President and for better or worse, the country will have a new leader and the Obamas will have to start shopping around for moving companies. No matter what your decision is in the voting booth, you also have a decision to make on which election night news coverage to follow. There are some options that will make the nation’s decision a little easier to watch. Here’s some comedy counter-programming options for your Election Night laughs.

Election Day Eve

South Park: Make America Mmmkay Again Marathon, Monday, November 7 at 8pm on Comedy Central

south-park-useStan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny go political for this three hour marathon of South Park episodes the night before the election. Election Day Eve isn’t too soon to start choosing your comedy coverage of Trump versus Clinton. Besides, having some choices is what Election Day is all about in America. If only there were some better choices in the big race on Tuesday. That’s been the theme of Season 20 of South Park which featured the Presidential election as a choice between “A Giant Douche and a Turd Sandwich”, with Mr. Garrison running against Hillary Clinton. If you haven’t been watching Season 20, we’ll leave it to you to figure out who’s the douche and who’s the turd sandwich. These 6 episodes of South Park will all have a political theme to them. And you’ll be able to see that there’s not much difference between cartoons and reality this political season.

The 2016 SNL Election Special: Monday, November 7 at 10pm on NBC

snl-useSaturday Night Live has a perfect score in their coverage of the 2016 campaign. From bringing in Larry David to play Bernie Sanders to casting Alec Baldwin as their new Donald Trump to Kate McKinnon redefining the Hillary Clinton impression, Lorne Michaels and cast have covered it all during this election season. On Election Day eve, SNL offers a 1 hour special featuring all the best of their campaign sketches. You may even see all three of SNL’s Donald Trumps with Taran Killam and Darrell Hammond as well as Baldwin playing the orangey Republican nominee at some point. If Armageddon awaits on Tuesday, might as well laugh with the best in the political sketch comedy business on Monday. The 2016 SNL Election Special airs November 7th at 10pm on NBC.

Election Day / Night

Chris Gethard’s Twelve-Hour Election Special: Tuesday, November 8th at Noon on MNN.org

gethard-useThe old saying goes, “Vote early and often”. That may not be possible for you, but early Election Day coverage is thanks to Chris Gethard and friends. The man behind the off-Broadway hit “Career Suicide” is starting early with his coverage and he’s going long, 12 hours long. The Chris Gethard Twelve-Hour Election Special starts at Noon on his former home, the Manhattan Neighborhood Network cable access channel. This is the second time that Chris is attempting marathon election coverage. He did this back in 2012 and according to him, things went wacky about 3 hours into it. So, who knows what you’ll see? Over 50 New York City comedians will be on hand to help Chris make it to midnight and see a new President elected. If you don’t get Manhattan Neighborhood Network on your cable or satellite TV system, (and why would you if you didn’t live in NYC?), you can still get in on the 12 hour fun by going to the Manhattan Neighborhood Network’s website at MNN.org.

Tosh.0-lection Special, Tuesday, November 8th at 10pm on Comedy Central

tosh-useComedy Central has put together a strong evening of pre-produced and live comedy programming for Election Night. It starts at 10 with Daniel Tosh. His Tosh.0-lection is an all new episode of the Comedy Central clip show. It will feature election based videos of some of the overly passionate folks dedicated to the 2016 Presidential campaign and will be “exploring the people, places and things of Internet infamy and social media misfires” that go along with election season according to Comedy Central. Even if your candidate is losing on Election Night, you can still feel superior by watching other people make complete asses of themselves on social media.

Drunk History Election Night Best Of Episode, Tuesday, November 8th at 10:30pm on Comedy Central

drunk-history-useDerek Waters, the star and co-creator of Drunk History, will host a special election night best of show which will feature some of their favorite stories involving Presidents and election days from the past. Comedy Central says the best-of will include “the contentious campaign between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson; Edith Wilson running the country after Woodrow Wilson had a stroke; and Abraham Lincoln working as a lawyer before entering politics.” You can join Derek Waters along with show favorite Steve Berg for some drunk Presidential history while you get drunk and more Presidential history is being made on Tuesday at 10:30 on Comedy Central.

Stephen Colbert’s Live Election Night Democracy’s Series Finale: Who’s Going To Clean Up This Sh–?, Tuesday, November 8th at 11pm on Showtime

colbert-useThe king of extended episode titles will be off from his regular CBS job on Election Night to make way for CBS News’ coverage of the Presidential election. So, Stephen Colbert is packing up for the night and heading over to the company’s foul-mouthed cable sister network for an anything goes Election Night special. In fact, since it’s Showtime, let’s give the actual name of Stephen Colbert’s November 8th extravaganza. It’s called “Stephen Colbert’s Live Election Night Democracy’s Series Finale: Who’s Going To Clean Up This Shit?”. Colbert will be going live on Election Night from his home studio at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City. The Late Show host seems to be at his best when covering politics and it doesn’t get any bigger or better in the political world than selecting a new Commander-in-Chief. Although none have been announced yet, the Election Night show promises an “eclectic group of guests” to break down the state-by-state votes as the polls all close and the returns start come in. By the time Stephen is on the air, a lot of  the East coast states will have already been called, some states will still be up in the air and others will be waiting to call it a day. Stephen Colbert is excited to go uncensored, so watch him go off-color while coloring the states in as either red or blue starting at 11pm on Showtime.

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah – Democalypse 2016 Live, Tuesday, November 8th at 11pm on Comedy Central

daily-show-useHost Trevor Noah and “The Best F#@king News Team” have been covering the 2016 Presidential race since it began and it’s all been leading to this moment, a one-hour live broadcast (live on both coasts, 11pm Eastern and 8pm Pacific) where Noah and his reporters will be giving commentary and analysis on the returns that will have come in so far. The entire Daily Show news team will be on hand for Election Night including Ronny Chieng, Desi Lydic, Jordan Klepper, Roy Wood Jr. and Hasan Minhaj. If you’re out on Election Night, hopefully not planning a revolt because your candidate isn’t winning, you can watch the Daily Show’s live coverage on comedycentral.com and the Comedy Central App.

The @midnight with Chris Hardwick Election Night Special, Tuesday, November 8th at 12am on Comedy Central

chris-hardwick-useFor Election Night, @midnight is moving back to its original midnight time slot at 12am Eastern. Chris Hardwick and his special guests will be handling all the social media angles as the country selects a new President. Plus, @midnight will be making history of its own by going live for the first time ever. Comedy Central promises that Hardwick and his panelists will “react in real-time to all the best blow-ups and melt-downs on social media and beyond as America finally closes the browser on this never-ending Presidential race.” For the live Election Night special, Chris Hardwick has brought in some of the best @midnight all-stars and funniest people in the country. Putting their skills to the test live will Paul F. Tompkins, Whitney Cummings and Ron Funches. These three @midnight favorites along with Chris Hardwick will give the final word as America finishes Election Night 2016 and immediately starts discussing the 2020 Presidential race.

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Ernie Tripper
Ernie Tripper