Comedy Central and New York Comedy Festival's COMICS TO WATCH Showcase Premieres Online Today

After concluding an extensive, nationwide search, this year's "Comics to Watch" features a record 10 comedians performing in the showcase reflecting an ever-expanding scope of the very best young talent on the comedy scene today. COMEDY CENTRAL and The New York Comedy Festival teamed up again for the third annual "Comics to Watch" showcase which took place at Carolines on Broadway on Wednesday, November 7 as part of the 2012 New York Comedy Festival. The "Comics to Watch" event will premiere in full-length on cc.com/comicstowatch today, November 12 at 4:00 p.m. ET and is available through Wednesday, November 14. Subsequently, clips of the individual performances from "Comics to Watch" 2012 will be live on the site.

Hosted by Owen Benjamin, this year's "Comics To Watch" features the following comedians: Asif Ali, David Agyekum, Kate Berlant, Matt D, Chris Distefano, Phil Hanley, Andrew Santino, Liza Treyger, Brooks Wheelan and Hampton Yount.

Asif Ali - stand-up, writer, improviser and actor who has appeared on ABC's "Modern Family" in addition to starring as a series regular on an upcoming ABC pilot with Dan Castellaneta.

David Agyekum - 22 year-old Michigander who has taken his talents to open mics and noisy bar shows across the East Coast.

Kate Berlant - Brooklyn-based comic/witch who has opened for Reggie Watts.

Matt D - competed and won Comic Stand-Off at the 2012 Magners Comedy Festival in Boston for an opportunity to perform at the Glasgow International Comedy Festival.

Chris Distefano - appeared on MTV2's highest-rated show "Guy Code" and starting in January, he can be seen on MTVs "Failosiphy"and "Money from Strangers."

Phil Hanley - native of Vancouver and now based in New York City, he has recently performed for a second time on "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson."

Andrew Santino - comedic headliner who has appeared on Comedy Central and MTV's "Punk'd" with upcoming appearances on "The Office," "Arrested Development" as well as in the new indie movie, "Warren."

Liza Treyger -Chicago based stand-up comedian from the former Soviet Union who loves wearing dresses, getting her nails done and telling jokes about race and woman things.

Brooks Wheelan -writer and performer based in Los Angeles whose credits include UCB, Comedy Central, College Humor and Second City Chicago.

Hampton Yount -Virginia native and currently a writer on MTV's "Ridiculousness and "TruTv's "Upload with Shaquille O'Neal."

"Comics to Watch" is a showcase featuring a wide range of diversely talented young comedians. It was created to launch the careers of the next generation of comedians by putting them in front of industry executives and comedy fans. The selection process involved live showcases in multiple cities. The all-comedy network and the festival organizers worked closely together to identify the best new stand-up comedians. Comedians from past "Comics to Watch" showcases such as Michael Che, Emily Heller, Ben Kronberg, Adam Newman, Kurt Braunohler, and Kevin Biggins have gone on to making stand-up appearances on COMEDY CENTRAL shows including "John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show" and "CC Stand-Up Live from The South Beach Comedy Festival."

Available on-air, online and on-the-go, COMEDY CENTRAL (www.cc.com) is the #1 brand in comedy and is owned by, and is a registered trademark of, Comedy Partners, a wholly-owned unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA and VIAB).

The New York Comedy Festival is produced by Carolines on Broadway in association with COMEDY CENTRAL. The festival has featured the country's top comedians, including Louis C.K., Bill Maher, Ricky Gervais, Kathy Griffin, Dane Cook, Sarah Silverman, AZIZ ANSARI, Wanda Sykes and Joel McHale, to name a few. In 2007, the festival launched the "Stand-Up for Heroes" event to benefit The Bob Woodruff Foundation, which has featured performances by Robin Williams, Jon Stewart, Jerry Seinfeld, Lewis Black, Ricky Gervais, Conan O'Brien and Bruce Springsteen. The festival is produced by Carolines on Broadway. Sponsors are Citbank, Klondike, JetBlue and Svedka Vodka. The media sponsors are New York Post, Time Out New York, Variety and the Village Voice.

More Articles by This Author...