Deray Davis to Host New MTV2 Comedy Series JOKING OFF, Premiering 4/1

MTV2 today announced that its newest comedy series, "MTV2's Joking Off," will premiere Wednesday, April 1, 2015 at 11 p.m. ET/PT. Hosted by stand-up comedian and actor DeRay Davis, "MTV2's Joking Off" is a hilarious, fast-paced, half-hour comedic game show where teams of jokesters test their improv skills against the wildest social media memes, tweets, Instagram images and videos to deliver laugh out loud reactions and out-joke the competition. Click here to watch a FIRST LOOK of the new series.

"Everyone should watch 'MTV2's Joking Off' because you need it in your life - you'll be empty without it," said DeRay Davis. "It will fill your funny void. It's like the sugar in your Kool-Aid."

"This show celebrates the most ridiculous aspects of social media," said Paul Ricci, Senior Vice President, Head of Development and Production for MTV2. "Watching these talented comics and improv gurus target the most roast-worthy gifs, pictures, videos and profiles, is hilarious."

The teams are made up of the best up-and-coming comedians and improv performers, which consist of rotating series regulars Dave Ebert, Desus Nice, The Kid Mero, James Davis, Matt Pavich, James Manziello, Kristen Acimovich, Liza Treyger, Matteo Lane and Mike Camerlengo. Throughout the season, "MTV2's Joking Off" will also feature guest appearances by Charlamagne, Timothy DeLaGhetto, Lil Duval, Jon Gabrus, Tanisha Long, Donnell Rawlings, Chris Distefano, Damien Lemon, Jordan Carlos, Monroe Martin, Shalyah Evans, Mike Winfield, Stephen Guarino, Awkwafina and Mac Lethal.

In each episode, three teams of two comedians compete in improv games inspired by Internet memes, photos, video and texts. Games include "Ok Stupid," where performers make up dating interests inspired by fake profiles on our 'Ok Cupid' parody site, "Textify," in which scenes are created out of awkward text conversations and "If They Could Talk," in which the comics create dialogue from funny ANIMAL videos. To conclude each episode, the two members of the final team remaining compete head-to-head in an epic prank call contest, "Call You Out," to decide the one jokester that will reign supreme.

Host Bio
DeRay Davis (@DeRayDavis)
In addition to hosting "MTV2's Joking Off," DeRay Davis was most recently was seen in the FOX series "Empire" and starred in the BET movie "A Very Larry Christmas." He's a regular on "Nick Cannon Presents: Wild 'N Out" and can also be seen in films such as "21 Jump Street," "G.I. Joe," "Barbershop" and "Semi-Pro." As a stand-up, he starred in his own special "DeRay Davis: Power Play," as well as "Def Comedy Jam," BET's "Comic View" and "Comedy Central Presents." Davis also performed comedy skits on Kanye West LPs "Late Registration" and "The College Dropout." He continues to perform standup around the country.

Cast Bios
Dave Ebert (@horsedivorce)
Dave Ebert is an actor, comedian, writer, illustrator, freestyle rapper, and guy. He received his BFA in Acting from SUNY Fredonia in '09 and has been working in New York ever since. He performs live at the Upright Citizens Brigade with the Maude Sketch team One Idiot. You can also see him perform not live in his web series "Shane and Dave."

Desus Nice (@desusnice)
Desus Nice is a writer, host, and highly noted Twitter personality. Born and raised in the Bronx, he co-hosts the popular web series Desus vs. Mero on Complex TV. His work has been featured in Vulture, Gawker, Buzzfeed and several other media outlets. He once drank rum with Anthony Bourdain on "Parts Unknown".

The Kid Mero (@THEKIDMERO) The Kid Mero is a New York-based writer, host, and Twitter personality. His work has appeared on Vice and Complex, and he is one-half of the popular web series Desus vs. Mero on Complex TV. He's been written about in The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, Vulture, and Gawker. He is currently working on a sitcom treatment with Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend, based on his time working as an aide at a New York City public school. He lives in the Bronx with his wife and two kids.

James Davis (@TheJamesDavis)
James Davis is a stand-up, writer and actor. Currently, he is a writer on James Corden's "Late Late Show" for CBS, in addition to starring on "MTV2's Joking Off." He is a darling of Funny Or Die and has written, directed and starred in massive hits for the site. He's their go-to impressionist for Barack and Kobe, in addition to creating his own original characters. Additionally, James recently completed a stint as a staff writer on the "In Living Color" specials for FOX and is a recurring character on Kevin Hart's hit BET show "Real Husbands of Hollywood."

James Manzello (@JamesManzello)
James Manzello is a New York City born, bred, and based actor, comedian, director, and musician. He has appeared on MTV's "Totally Clueless," ABC's "What Would You Do?" and made his feature film debut in Noah Baumbach's "While We're Young." His indie comedy pilot "The Neighborhood" won the Audience Award at the 2014 New York Television Festival, and he's now featured on MTV2's "Joking Off". James has also voiced and appeared in many commercials, including Apple's "Designed by Apple in California." He has written, directed, scored, and starred in a number of shorts and sketches that can be seen on the Internet.

Kristen Acimovic (@Yackimovic)
Kristen Acimovic is a writer, actor and general scamp-about-town based in New York City. Originally from Boulder, Colorado, she cut her comedy teeth at NYC's Upright Citizen's Brigade Theatre, where she's been performing sketch and improv on the Chelsea mainstage since 2010. Kristen has been a series regular on two MTV shows, shot pilots for Comedy Central and A&E, and regularly writes and acts in videos all over the internet. She holds an English degree from Northwestern University, a Hubai high red belt in Hapkido, and spends more time than she'd care to admit on GAME OF THRONES message boards.

Liza Treyger (@Glittercheese)
Liza Treyger is a Chicago-bred stand-up comic who now resides in NYC. She really misses alleys, her favorite bartenders and her Russian parents. She recently performed at the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal and has appeared on Adam Devine's House PARTY ON Comedy Central, and Chelsea Lately. She was thrilled to be a part of the New York Comedy Festival 2012 as one of Comedy Central's Comics to Watch (where she got to watch shows and eat cake balls with two professional wrestlers!). She also has a web series called How Many Questions.

Matt Pavich (@MattPavich)
Matt Pavich is a comedian and actor from New York City. He is the co-creator/star of the series "The Neighborhood" which won "Audience Award" and "Best Editing" at the 2014 New York Television Festival. He is featured in Elite Daily's "Gen-Why" Youtube videos and is the cofounder of STINKHOUSE. You can catch him live at his monthly show at New York Comedy Club "Matt and Matt's Laundromat." He is also the cofounder of the Youtube Channel MANWICH.

Matteo Lane (@MatteoLane)
Matteo Lane is a New York-based comedian, originally from Chicago. Before starting stand up, Matteo lived in Italy as an oil painter and Opera singer. After realizing that he wasn't going to become Maria Callas, Matteo began telling jokes to strangers in dark rooms. Matteo has performed in the Montreal Laughs Festival, on Comedy Central and has been heard on SiriusXM radio.

Mike Camerlengo (@MCamerlengo)
Mike hails from Melrose, Massachusetts and began writing and performing comedy in college. He can be seen performing standup, sketch and improv on stages all over New York City as well as hosting the popular monthly show "Late Night TV." Prior to joining the cast of "MTV2's Joking Off," Mike worked on "Unite," ESPN's first late night entertainment show. There, he created nightly comedy videos as well as guest-hosted the show. Mike is a contributor to Onion Sports and has recently been featured on HuffPo Comedy, Splitsider, the TOSH.0 Blog and everyone's favorite South Jersey classic rock station, 105.7 The Hawk! When he's not performing, Mike is usually reminiscing about the intramural flag football championship he won in college.

"MTV2's Joking Off" is Executive Produced for MTV2 by Candida Boyette-Clemons, Darin Byrne, Paul Ricci and Chris McCarthy. Colby Gaines serves as Executive Producer for Back Roads Entertainment and Michael Canter serves as Executive Producer/Showrunner for Canter/Krask Industries. "MTV2's Joking Off" is directed by Steve Paley.

For more information about MTV2's "Joking Off" visit MTV2.com, Facebook or MTVPress.com.

About MTV2

MTV2 is a leading male-minded lifestyle brand for the Millennial generation. Distributed in more than 80 million homes, it's the No. 1 channel for males 12-34 among networks available in under 90 million homes. MTV2's programming is fueled by comedic originals, music and cultural commentary that is curated with its audience. As a sibling network of MTV, MTV2 is an incubator and proving ground for rising young comedians, musicians and entertainers. MTV2 is a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.

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