Comedy Central is following the example of its Viacom sister network Nickelodeon by setting up its own Animated Shorts Program — a new development initiative designed for creators to submit their short-form toon pitches directly with the possibility of snagging a development deal with the No. 1 comedy brand.
Executive Vice Presidents and Co-Heads of Talent and Development Sarah Babineau and Jonas Larsen made the announcement Monday, commenting: “We hope the Animated Shorts Program is an evolution of our continuous history of finding the next great comedic voices. We are grateful to the very smart people at Nickelodeon who originated this incubator, and we are excited to put the Comedy Central touch on it with hopefully the same successful results Nickelodeon has found.”
Just as Nick’s Animated Shorts Program spawned its top-rated comedy toon The Loud House, Comedy Central’s goal is to build an artist development incubator and provide creators with the opportunity to get their ideas in front of the network’s development team. The initiative led by Comedy Central development executives Jose Acevedo, Ian Friedman, Kelci Parker and Michael Stanger, will continue with the brand’s tradition of breaking new comedic talent through programs like The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Broad City, Drunk History and Comedy Central Presents: Stand-Up.
Comedy Central is the broadcast home of South Park, as well as syndicated animated series Archer, BoJack Horseman and King of the Hill, with The Cleveland Show joining the lineup this month.
The Animated Shorts Program is now open for submissions from creators throughout North America. Submissions should be one to three minutes in length, featuring any and all styles and techniques of animation, including traditional and digital 2D, CG, stop-motion or mixed media. Deadline for submissions is December 31, 2018.
