Andy Richter and Conan O'Brien Writers Team Up for One-Hour TBS Special

TBS and Just For Laughs have announced the lineup and airdate for a new TBS special that will be taped during the second-annual edition of TBS PRESENTS A "VERY FUNNY" FESTIVAL: JUST FOR LAUGHS this June in Chicago.

Andy Richter, Reggie Watts and several of Conan O'Brien's writers will team up for the one-hour special Team Coco presents Conan's Writers Live (Working Title). This show has played to sold-out audiences in Los Angeles and is coming to Chicago for one night only. Richter was O'Brien's sidekick on Late Night with Conan O'Brien from 1993 to 2000, before venturing out to star in Andy Richter Controls the Universe and Andy Barker, P.I., and then returning to join O'Brien as announcer for The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.

The evening will also feature the musical stylings of comedian Watts, who is opening for O'Brien on The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour.

The showcase will be taped at the Bank of America Theater on Thursday, June 17, at 7 p.m. (CT), and premiere on TBS Sunday, June 27, at 10 p.m. (ET/PT).

In addition to Team Coco presents Conan's Writers Live, TBS and Just for Laughs are also adding to the Festival's impressive roster of grassroots performances. Uncle's Brother, a comedy trio comprising Tim Meadows, Joe Canale and Brad Morris, has been entertaining college and club audiences all over the United States and abroad with their unique blend of stand-up, improv and sketch. They will perform at the Annoyance Theatre On Friday, June 18, at 10 p.m. (CT). The opening act is the cast of the Annoyance Theatre's hit sketch show, Swear Jar. Meadows will also host the midnight Sketchubator at the end of Sketch-travaganza: The Best of Sketchfest at Studio BE on Friday, June 18.

In addition, the Festival will feature Drinking Buddies with Chicago prodigal son T.J. Miller at the Lincoln Lodge on Wednesday, June 16, at 9 p.m. (CT). Miller and special guests Kyle Kinane, Mike Bridenstine and host James Fritz will be on hand for a night of loose, off-the-cuff comedy. When the show concludes, attendees can stick around for a rare Midwest screening of the Sundance festival sensation Successful Alcoholics, a short film by director Jordan Vogt-Roberts.

T.J. Miller will also join the show for Chicago Underground Comedy presents: Secret Big-Time Local Comedy Showcase, taking place at the Beat Kitchen on Tuesday, June 15, at 8 p.m. (CT).

Tickets for Team Coco presents Conan's Writers Live go on sale Friday, May 28, at 10 a.m. (CT). Tickets available at all Ticketmaster locations, online at www.ticketmaster.com, by phone at 800/745-3000, Bank of America Theater Box Office and all Broadway In Chicago Box Offices. Tickets for Uncle's Brother and Drinking Buddies are on sale now and available at the respective venue box offices. A complete schedule of announced performances and other Festival information are available at www.justforlaughschicago.com. Complete information on the newly announced shows is included at the bottom of this release.

About the Festival

Five nights. Seventeen venues. More than 100 comedians. The laughter returns to Chicago this summer with the second annual edition of this week-long explosion of comedy, scheduled to take place Tuesday, June 15 - Saturday, June 19, 2010. Emmy-winner Ellen Degeneres will tape her fourth variety show for TBS, Ellen's Somewhat Special Special. Also taping for TBS, Cedric the Entertainer will host Cedric The Entertainer's Urban Circus, and Andy Richter and Reggie Watts will be among the talents as Team Coco presents Conan's Writers Live. Other Festival performers include comedy superstars Russell Peters, Denis Leary, Greg Giraldo, Jim Norton, Aziz Ansari, Patton Oswalt, Tim Meadows, Adam Carolla, JB Smoove as his character Leon Black, Rob Corrdry and his new series Childrens Hospital and George Wendt, Jim Belushi and other comedy greats from the Second City class of '79. Also on the roster is the wildly popular Lucha VaVOOM show.

The Festival once again brings together the unprecedented comedy forces of TBS and Montreal's Just For Laughs. The TBS specials featuring Ellen Degeneres and Cedric the Entertainer will be taped at The Chicago Theatre. Other sites slated to be home to this year's Festival include Rosemont Theatre, Park West, the Vic Theatre, Mayne Stage, Second City, The Red Bar Comedy Club and a roster of venues featuring grassroots programming.

For the Festival, TBS and Just For Laughs are also collaborating with the largest independent promoter in the United States, Chicago-based Jam Productions, LTD and Outback Concerts.

About the Just For Laughs Group

Founded in 1983, the Just For Laughs Group's growth is concentrated on four major focal points: Festivals (in Montreal, Toronto, Chicago and Paris); television production (most notably Gags seen in 135 countries and on 95 airlines); live shows (Canadian tour dates for Jerry Seinfeld, Jeremy Hotz, John Pinette, Louis C.K., the Capital One Just For Laughs Comedy Tour, North American dates for Family Guy Live!, Arturo Brachetti's show Change in London); and talent management. Its inaugural Montreal Festival 27 years ago is now the world's largest and most prestigious comedy event. The Group has offices in Montreal, Paris, Los Angeles, Toronto and London.

About TBS

TBS, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., is television's top-rated comedy network. It serves as home to such original comedy series as My Boys, Tyler Perry's House of Payne and Meet the Browns, as well as the upcoming Neighbors from Hell and Are We There Yet?; late-night series like Lopez Tonight, starring George Lopez, and the eagerly anticipated new series starring Conan O'Brien; hot contemporary comedies like The Office and Family Guy; and specials like Funniest Commercials of the Year; blockbuster movies; and hosted movie showcases. TBS also presents major live events, including star-studded comedy festivals.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.

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