Fox Short-Com Comedy Hour Means New Opportunities for Comics

FOX will launch THE SHORT-COM COMEDY HOUR in Summer 2013, building on television’s rich past to reinvent comedy for the future. Both a contemporary spin on multi-camera comedy and an alternative development platform, THE SHORT-COM COMEDY HOUR will feature four unique short-form sitcoms – or “short-coms” – in a fast-paced hour-long broadcast. Each short-com will feature both established and up-and-coming actors and comedians in one-act scenes, creating a comedy showcase brimming with today’s best, brightest and freshest voices.

“We are basically ripping open the traditional scripted comedy development process with THE SHORT-COM COMEDY HOUR,” said Kevin Reilly, President of Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company. “Our end goal is to provide distinct comedy voices with a world-class platform to experiment, grow and perfect their ideas and to hopefully build them into mainstream comedy hits in the future. We’re looking forward to seeing what the untapped comedy community has to offer.”

The short-com development process will be as distinct as the end result, featuring hand-picked talent from the world of stand-up comedy. In an effort to open up the traditional development process, FOX will facilitate a creatively open environment for comedy talent to hone their voices and material within the context of their self-produced short-coms.

In addition to airing them as part of THE SHORT-COM COMEDY HOUR, FOX will commission the most fully realized of these scripted vignettes to series, helping to seed the future of the FOX multi-camera brand.

They are currently scouting in Montreal at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival.

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