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New Web Series BOILING THE FROG with SENATOR AL FRANKEN Launches Today

By: Jul. 10, 2017
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We bet you didn't think climate change could make you laugh! But this new series can...
The Primetime Emmy® Award-winning television and digital series YEARS OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY has joined forces with Funny Or Die to launch a new digital series which tackles the issues surrounding climate change with humor.

Produced in collaboration with The Years Project, YEARS OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY is the multimedia series that has brought together some of Hollywood's biggest influencers who are passionate about environmental issues and revealed emotional and hard-hitting accounts of the effects of climate change from around the planet.

Season 1 of the new series BOILING THE FROG with SENATOR AL FRANKEN involves six five-minute episodes. Each episode WILL be released every week on the Facebook pages of Funny Or Die and YEARS OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY beginning July 10th. The entire season WILL also be available on www.funnyordie.com. Each episode can be embedded on other sites via the Facebook or Youtube versions of the videos.

U.S. Senator Al Franken of Minnesota, the former comedian and SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE cast member, has emerged as a powerful voice on climate change and environmental issues in the U.S. Senate. But it's a serious job and for the past decade he really hasn't had the opportunity to be that funny.

"I thought Senator Al Franken had lost his comedic mojo," said series creator and executive producer David Gelber. "And I assumed that his mind was permanently stuck in the serious policymaker mode. But our team discovered that this guy still has it. And with great humor he's able to tackle the hot-button and deadly-serious issue of climate change in a way that is both hilarious and informative."

"Senator Franken literally gave us the third chair - a front row seat - to his conversations and interactions with former late night television host David Letterman and some of his Senate colleagues," said series creator and executive producer Joel Bach. "And the result is special. We find that Franken is a truly optimistic Senator when it comes to climate change, even as he holds back no punches when it comes to the lobbyists and politicians who are pushing for a U-turn in climate change policies."

Gelber explains the series title: "If you put a frog in a pot of boiling water it'll jump right out. It's a shock to the system. But if you put a frog in a pot of cold water, place it on a stove and slowing start heating it up, it turns out the frog WILL stay in the pot and let itself get boiled. We're living in a time where politicians are more like the frog in the heating pot. Despite climate change staring them right in the face they're not taking life-saving action."

Episode 1: Intro
Senator Franken talks about climate change by making an analogy: an overweight heavy smoker wants to find a DOCTOR WHO WILL tell him he doesn't have to change his lifestyle at all. The question is, just who is this doctor?
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/8fd42231b4/boiling-the-frog-ep-1-senator-al-franken-takes-on-climate-change

Episode 2: Siegfried & Roy
Senator Franken tells Letterman about who is behind a lot of the inaction in Washington on climate change. He calls them Siegfried and Roy, and they have Franken's Republican colleagues running scared. Who are these guys?http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/1d1411374f/boiling-the-frog-ep-2-siegfried-and-roy

Episode 3: Little Rhody
Senator Franken wants Letterman to hear about a real solution to climate change. Behind Franken's senate office door is just the man to explain it. Hint: he's from "Little Rhody."
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/a7b547e19b/boiling-the-frog-ep-3-little-rhody

Episode 4: Don't Drink the Water
Senator Franken is impressed that Letterman went to India to find out what the Indians are doing about climate change. But he also wonders, "Dave, when you were in India, why did you seem so stupid?"
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/357ddf0162/boiling-the-frog-ep-4-don-t-drink-the-water

Episode 5: Igneous
Senator Franken and Letterman take on Trump for having no idea why coal jobs are really disappearing. Then Franken takes on Letterman for using the word 'igneous'.
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/6bb176c541/boiling-the-frog-ep-5-igneous

Episode 6: Is He A Doctor Or A Barber?
Senator Franken and Letterman learn that Letterman's prodigious beard is actually a powerful weapon in the struggle to control carbon emissions.
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/3c8d2913ed/boiling-the-frog-ep-6-is-he-a-doctor-or-a-barber

The first season of YEARS OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY won the 2014 Emmy award for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series and was executive produced by James Cameron, Jerry Weintraub and Arnold Schwarzenegger, along with Emmy-winning "60 Minutes" producers Joel Bach and David Gelber. Season Two ran on National Geographic to critical acclaim in late 2016.

Funny Or Die launched in April 2007 and has grown into a premier comedy brand and production studio known for creating award-winning, high-quality content with a global audience of more than 70 million. Funny Or Die is the #1 comedy brand on both Twitter and Facebook. Funny Or Die is the top destination for celebrity-driven comedy videos and highly topical political commentary. Funny Or Die's founders are Gary Sanchez Productions (Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, and Chris Henchy), and Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Judd Apatow is also a principal partner.



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