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FUNNY OR DIE’S BILLY ON THE STREET to Return to Fuse Tonight

By: Dec. 07, 2012
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Fuse, the national music television network of The Madison Square Garden Company, announced today that FUNNY OR DIE'S BILLY ON THE STREET will return to Fuse tonight, December 7 at 10pm EST. In 12 new half-hour episodes, Billy Eichner hits the streets of New York City with a vengeance, unleashing his wit and rapid-fire quizzing techniques on unsuspecting New Yorkers to test their knowledge of everything music and pop culture.

Part game show, part comedy, Funny or Die's Billy on the Street features Billy Eichner asking New Yorkers several different rounds of outrageous trivia questions, including a "subjective" final round where contestants must agree with Billy's opinions on music and pop culture in order to win. How far contestants advance in the game determines the amount of money and prizes they take home. New episodes will feature a laundry list of A-list celebrities joining Billy, including Will Ferrell, Maya Rudolph, Rashida Jones, Debra Messing, Nas, Christian Borle, Ashley Benson, Rachel Dratch, Nick Kroll, Andy Cohen, Perez Hilton, Hank Azaria, Zachary Quinto, and Kristen Johnston. When the new episodes air, fans will be able to enjoy supplemental Funny or Die's Billy on the Street content on BillyOnTheStreet.com.

"I'm incredibly excited for people to see these new episodes and I can't believe we have so many of my comedy heroes on the show this season, including Will Ferrell and Maya Rudolph. I can't wait to bring more insanity to televisions across the country," said Billy Eichner. "I'm so grateful for the incredible welcome that the show has received and I can't wait to be back in December with new games and even crazier contestants."

Audiences and media went crazy for season one of Funny or Die's Billy on the Street with The New York Times calling it "uproarious...Eichner is doing things within the confines of the television set that feel loose, unpredictable and appealingly wrong." Entertainment Weekly included Billy on the Street on its weekly "Must List," USAToday.com proclaims that it is "your new favorite show," Huffington Post calls it "LOL-worthy" and celebrates its "frantic hilarity" and Playboy named the show one of 15 exciting reasons to love music, saying "It ain't Jeopardy!"

"Billy on the Street was an amazing breakout success last season on Fuse," said Brad Schwartz, senior vice president of programming and operations, Fuse. "We couldn't be more excited to watch Billy take quizzing New Yorkers to a whole new level...now with bonus celebrities!"

Eichner, a regular performer at New York's improv and sketch comedy theater, the Upright Citizens Brigade, initially created his "man on the street" videos as part of his live shows. The videos featured Eichner surprising people on the streets of New York, asking their opinions on pop culture. The videos became viral hits in 2010, and were featured on Huffington Post, Gawker, Entertainment Weekly, VH1, Jezebel, New York Magazine, and Funny Or Die, among others.

Mike Farah, Funny Or Die's President of Production, Billy Eichner and Anna Wenger are executive producers.

Fuse is a national television network that provides a unique, multi-platform destination for music lovers, to connect fans with their favorite artists and deliver the most comprehensive coverage of the music industry today. Funny or Die's Billy on the Street is part of Fuse's expanding original music programming lineup that includes original series such as Off Beat; Video on Trial: Special Videos Unit; Top 20 Countdown; Popped; and Fuse's live concert series, which has featured the biggest names in the industry, including Florence and The Machine, Drake, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Linkin Park, Maroon 5, Jay-Z, John Mayer, Kanye West and Dave Matthews Band.

Follow Billy on Twitter @billyeichner
Follow Fuse on Twitter @fusetv

About Billy Eichner
Eichner is a comedian, actor, writer, and host known for his popular viral videos, such as "Billy on the Street," "Forest Hills State of Mind" with Rachel Dratch, and "The Charlie Sheen is Too Damn High Party" with Jimmy "The Rent is Too Damn High" McMillan for Funny or Die. He first gained attention as the host and writer of "Creation Nation: A Live Talk Show," a wildly popular, critically acclaimed stage show in New York called a "late night theatrical phenomenon" by The New York Times. His television credits include the BBC America chat show Would You Rather? with Graham Norton, Fashion Police on E!, "The Bravo A-List Awards" on Bravo, Joan Rivers' Straight Talk (a talk show pilot for Bravo he co-hosted with Joan Rivers and Andy Cohen), and Best Week Ever on VH1. He is currently writing a new stage show to be directed by Jason Moore, the Tony nominated director of Avenue Q. He is a native New Yorker, and a graduate of Stuyvesant High School and Northwestern University.

About Fuse

Fuse, the national television network dedicated exclusively to music, brings viewers closer to their favorite artists and bands by featuring original series and specials, exclusive interviews, live concerts and video blocks – all rooted in the music experience. Celebrating the hit makers of today, familiar favorites and edgy newcomers, Fuse accommodates the wide ranging tastes and attitudes of its 18-34 year-old audience with compelling music programming on-air, on-line, on-demand, in HD and via mobile technologies. Fuse is a part of MSG Media, which includes television networks MSG, MSG Plus, MSG HD and MSG Plus HD, as well as MSG Interactive, which oversees all company digital initiatives. MSG Media is a division of The Madison Square Garden Company (NASDAQ:MSG), along with MSG Sports and MSG Entertainment. MSG Sports includes the New York Knicks (NBA); the New York Rangers (NHL); the New York Liberty (WNBA); the Connecticut Whale (American Hockey League); and MSG Entertainment includes concerts and events at Radio City Music Hall, Madison Square Garden, the Theater at Madison Square Garden, the Wang Theatre in Boston, the Beacon Theatre, the legendary Chicago Theatre as well as the Forum in Inglewood, California and manages wholly-owned live entertainment properties including the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, starring The Rockettes. Additional information about Fuse can be found at www.fuse.tv.

About Funny Or Die
Funny Or Die launched in April 2007 and has quickly become the top destination for comedy on the web. The site has over 16 million unique users per month, over 60 million video views per month, and has grown into a vertically integrated 21st century digital studio that produces high quality content over numerous platforms, operating a social media and marketing division with over 4.7 million Twitter followers (#1 Comedy Brand), approximately 1.8 million Facebook fans, and devoted followers on numerous social networking and sharing sites. Funny Or Die has become the "place to be seen" for comedic celebrities, and the obvious destination for a daily comedy fix. Funny Or Die's founders are Gary Sanchez Productions (Will Ferrell, Adam McKay and Chris Henchy), Creative Artists Agency (CAA), Randy Adams and Michael Kvamme. Judd Apatow is also a principal partner in Funny Or Die.



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