NYCF and Comedy Central Announce Festival Lineup - Bill Cosby, Bill Maher, Amy Schumer and More!

Marking its 11th year, the New York Comedy Festival (NYCF), in association with Comedy Central, announced its 2014 line-up today. The festival, spanning from November 5 - 9, will feature comedy's biggest stars performing in New York City's most prestigious venues, including the Beacon Theatre, Carnegie Hall, The Theater at Madison Square Garden and Town Hall.

Among the many highlights of this year's festival is the legendary Bill Cosby, who will perform at Carnegie Hall on Saturday, November 8. Joining Cosby will be a roster of festival favorites including Bill Maher, Hannibal Buress, and Maria Bamford, along with first-time festival headliners Carly Aquilino, Chris D'Elia, Tig Notaro, Amy Schumer, Marc Maron, Nick Offerman and Jessimae Peluso.

This year's NYCF will feature over 200 of the country's most recognized and emerging comedians performing more than 60 shows throughout the city. Additional shows will be announced in the fall.

"We are thrilled to announce the exceptional line-up of comedians to this year's festival. Throughout the past ten years the festival has helped to establish a platform for emerging and renowned talent that has both engaged and embraced the local community as well as the entertainment industry," said Caroline Hirsch, founder and owner of the New York Comedy Festival and Carolines on Broadway. "As the festival enters its next decade, we are excited to continue showcasing great comedic talents, and as always, bringing a lot of laughs to New York City!"

"I would like to thank the New York Comedy Festival for bringing me to the great Carnegie Hall. Believe me, I have practiced," said Bill Cosby.

"Comedy Central and NYCF are proud to bring fans an amazing roster of talent and shows from every cross section of the comedy community," said Steve Raizes, Senior Vice President, Comedy Central Enterprises. "It's an incredibly strong line-up and should make for a fantastic week of comedy."

Over the past decade, the New York Comedy Festival has brought memorable performances to some of New York City's most prestigious venues from such talent as Aziz Ansari, Bill Burr, Louis C.K., Whitney Cummings, Jim Gaffigan, Ricky Gervais, Kathy Griffin, Kevin Hart, Bill Maher, Joel McHale, Tracy Morgan, Patton Oswalt, Andy Samberg and Wanda Sykes, among others. During the past two years of the NYCF, David Steinberg has given audiences a glimpse into the lives of comedic geniuses Larry David and Robin Williams with his one-on-one discussions. The NYCF has also produced informative and entertaining panels including "Behind the Scenes of The Colbert Report," "Oh Hello: Kroll Show," "An Evening With David Cross," "Live from New York...A Discussion with the Saturday Night Live Writers," "Oddly Familiar: A Ben Stiller Show Reunion" and "Denis Leary's Merry F#%$in' Christmas."

Citi is the official credit card of the New York Comedy Festival. Citi cardmembers will have access to purchase presale tickets to NYCF shows through Citi's Private Pass program. The presale will run from August 6 at 10:00 AM EDT to August 10 at 10:00 PM EDT. For complete presale details, visit www.citiprivatepass.com.

Tickets for all shows are available to the general public starting August 11 at 10:00 AM EDT. Tickets can be purchased through the New York Comedy Festival website: www.nycomedyfestival.com.

The 2014 NYCF is presented in association with COMEDY CENTRAL. Now in its eleventh year, the festival is produced by Carolines on Broadway. Sponsors of the festival include Citi, the New York Post, Time Out New York and the Village Voice.

THE 2014 NEW YORK COMEDY FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

(EVENTS CONFIRMED TO DATE AND ARE SUBJECT TO ADDITIONS)

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6

TIG NOTARO: BOYISH GIRL INTERRUPTED - 8 PM - TOWN HALL

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7

HANNIBAL BURESS - 7 PM - TOWN HALL

AMY SCHUMER: PROFESSIONAL - 8 PM - CARNEGIE HALL

MARC MARON - 7:30 PM - NYU SKIRBALL CENTER

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 8

BILL MAHER - AN EVENING WITH BILL MAHER - 7 PM - BEACON THEATRE

CARLY AQUILINO AND JESSIMAE PELUSO - 7 PM - NYU SKIRBALL CENTER

BILL COSBY - 8 PM - CARNEGIE HALL

CHRIS D'ELIA: UNDER NO INFLUENCE - 7 PM - TOWN HALL

MARIA BAMFORD - 9:45 PM - TOWN HALL

NICK OFFERMAN: FULL BUSH - 9:45 PM - BEACON THEATRE

ABOUT THE NEW YORK COMEDY FESTIVAL

Now in its eleventh year, 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, Larry David, John Mulaney, Kevin Hart, Sarah Silverman, Aziz Ansari, and Wanda Sykes, 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 Bill Cosby, Robin Williams, Jon Stewart, Jerry Seinfeld, Lewis Black, Ricky Gervais, Conan O'Brien, Bruce Springsteen and John Mayer, among others. To date, the "Stand Up for Heroes" events have raised over $20 million. For more information please visit the NYCF website, www.nycomedyfestival.com, like the NYCF Facebook page, www.facebook.com/newyorkcomedyfestival, and follow the NYCF on Twitter, @NYComedyFest.

ABOUT COMEDY CENTRAL

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). For up-to-the-minute and archival press information and photographs visit Comedy Central's press Web site at press.cc.com and follow us on Twitter @ComedyCentralPR for the latest in breaking news updates, behind-the-scenes information and photos.