Josh Gad Among Nominees for 2nd Annual COMEDY AWARDS

'Book of Mormon's' Josh Gad is among the nominees for the second annual THE COMEDY AWARDS. Gad has been nominated for the 'Break Out Performer of the Year' award.  Other nominees for this year's awards include "Modern Family," "Bridesmaids," "30 Rock," "Crazy, Stupid, Love." and Louis C.K. leading the way with the most nominations. The annual event dedicated to honoring and celebrating the world of comedy will be taped at New York City's Hammerstein Ballroom on Saturday, April 28 and will premiere on COMEDY CENTRAL on Sunday, May 6, 2012.

The nominees for the second annual event reflect an extensive range of comedic talent in film, television, stand-up and animation. "Modern Family," recipient of the "Comedy Series" award during last year's inaugural show, is once again nominated in the "Comedy Series" category, one of its five total nominations. Other nominees for "Comedy Series" include "30 Rock" (five total nominations), "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (four total nominations), "Parks and Recreation" (three total nominations) and "Happy Endings."

Leading the way in the "Comedy Film" category are "Bridesmaids" and "Crazy, Stupid, Love." with five total nominations each. Rounding out the "Comedy Film" nominees are "Midnight in Paris" and "Horrible Bosses" (four total nominations each) and the Academy Award-winning "The Artist," which received three total nominations. The recipients for the "Johnny Carson Award," the "Comedy Icon Award" and The Comedy Awards Digital / Best Viral Original nominees will be announced in the coming weeks. A full list of nominations for The Comedy Awards 2012 can be found at the end of this release.

Nominees were selected by the "The Comedy Awards" Board of Directors, which include such luminaries as: Carol Burnett, James Burrows, Greg Cavic, Stephen Colbert, James Dixon, Budd Friedman, Jim Gosnell, Rick Greenstein, Brad Grey, Caroline Hirsch, Sharon Jackson, Blair Kohan, Martin Lesak, Steve Levine, Jamie Masada, Adam McKay, Jimmy Miller, Conan O'Brien, Peter Principato, Joan Rivers, Jay Roach, Chris Rock, Ray Romano, Rory Rosegarten, Michael Rotenberg, George Schlatter, Mitzi Shore, David Steinberg, Jon Stewart, Lily Tomlin, Sandy Wernick and Geof Wills.

Winners will be chosen by The Comedy Awards Voting Body, comprised of professionals from the comedy community including writers, producers, performers, directors and stand-ups. And starting today, fans can vote for their pick for "Breakout Performer of the Year" at www.thecomedyawards.com.

The awards will air on COMEDY CENTRAL as well as COMEDY CENTRAL's international channels across Europe, New Zealand, India and Israel. Click here to view a highlight reel from last year's show. Follow "The Comedy Awards" on Twitter @thecomedyawards.

Last year, "The Comedy Awards" first annual show honored the biggest names in comedy with appearances by Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey, Kristen Wiig, Will Ferrell, Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, Ty Burrell, Tracy Morgan and Andy Samberg, among others. David Letterman was awarded "The Comedy Awards" most prestigious honor, the "Johnny Carson Award" and Eddie Murphy received the "Comedy Icon Award" for his extraordinary contribution to the world of comedy.

"The Comedy Awards" has once again joined forces with the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) to endow The American Comedy Fund. Without a union or other protection, many comedians face unique challenges to succeed and survive. The fund provides much-needed financial assistance, health benefits and other resources for comedians across the country during times of need, crisis or transition. The American Comedy Fund is administered by EIF in collaboration with the Motion Picture & Television Fund and The Actors Fund.

Don Mischer, Casey Patterson, EVP, Event Production, Viacom Entertainment Group and Charlie Haykel are the Executive Producers. Juliane Hare is Producer. Beth McCarthy Miller, the Peabody and DGA Award-Winning and Emmy®-nominated Director, will once again direct "The Comedy Awards."

THE COMEDY AWARDS 2012 NOMINATIONS

COMEDY FILM

"The Artist"
"Bridesmaids"
"Crazy, Stupid, Love."
"Horrible Bosses"
"Midnight in Paris"

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR—FILM

Jason Bateman, "Horrible Bosses"
Steve Carell, "Crazy, Stupid, Love."
Jean Dujardin, "The Artist"
Zach Galifianakis, "The Hangover Part II"
Owen Wilson, "Midnight in Paris"

COMEDY DIRECTOR—FILM

Woody Allen, "Midnight in Paris"
James Bobin, "The Muppets"
Paul Feig, "Bridesmaids"
Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, "Crazy, Stupid, Love."
Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"

COMEDY SERIES

"30 Rock"
"Curb Your Enthusiasm"
"Happy Endings"
"Modern Family"
"Parks and Recreation"

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR—TV

Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"
Ty Burrell, "Modern Family"
Louis C.K., "Louie"
Steve Carell, "The Office"
Larry David, "Curb Your Enthusiasm"

COMEDY DIRECTING—TV

"30 Rock"
"Curb Your Enthusiasm"
"Louie"
"Modern Family"
"The Office"

ANIMATED COMEDY FILM

"Cars 2"
"Kung Fu Panda 2"
"Puss In Boots"
"Rango"
"Rio"

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS—FILM

Jennifer Aniston, "Horrible Bosses"
Cameron Diaz, "Bad Teacher"
Melissa McCarthy, "Bridesmaids"
Emma Stone, "Crazy, Stupid, Love."
Kristen Wiig, "Bridesmaids"

COMEDY SCREENPLAY

"50/50"
"Bridesmaids"
"Crazy, Stupid, Love."
"Horrible Bosses"
"Midnight in Paris"

ANIMATED COMEDY SERIES

"Archer"
"Family Guy"
"The Life & Times of Tim"
"The Simpsons"
"South Park"

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS—TV

Zooey Deschanel, "New Girl"
Tina Fey, "30 Rock"
Amy Poehler, "Parks and Recreation"
Kristen Wiig, "Saturday Night Live"
Sofia Vergara, "Modern Family"

COMEDY WRITING—TV

"30 Rock"
"Curb Your Enthusiasm"
"Louie"
"Modern Family"
"Parks and Recreation"
"Saturday Night Live"

LATE NIGHT COMEDY SERIES

"The Colbert Report"
"The Daily Show with Jon Stewart"
"Late Night with Jimmy Fallon"
"Late Show with David Letterman"
"Real Time with Bill Maher"

BREAKOUT PERFORMER OF THE YEAR

Zooey Deschanel
Josh Gad
Donald Glover
Melissa McCarthy
Jason Sudeikis

CLUB COMIC

Ted Alexandro
Hannibal Buress
Pete Holmes
Anthony Jeselnik
Moshe Kasher
John Mulaney
Kumail Nanjiani
Chelsea Peretti
Amy Schumer
Rory Scovel

SKETCH / ALTERNATIVE COMEDY SERIES

"Childrens Hospital"
"Louie"
"Portlandia"
"Saturday Night Live"
"Tosh.0"

COMEDY SPECIAL OF THE YEAR

"Louis C.K.: Live at the Beacon Theater"
"Norm Macdonald: Me Doing Standup"
"Patton Oswalt Finest Hour"
"Colin Quinn Long Story Short"
"Daniel Tosh: Happy Thoughts"

STAND-UP TOUR
Dave Attell
Lewis Black
Louis C.K.
Kevin Hart
Jerry Seinfeld

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