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Posts tagged as panel shows

Panel Shows

Director of BBC Television Bans All-Male Comedy Show Panels

by | February 10th, 2014

In an interesting move, BBC has announced a ban on all-male panels on popular comedy shows like QI, Mock the Week, and Have I Got News for You. The decision comes after frequent complaints from the network and female comedians alike about the male dominance on the series, whose guest panels featured only 5 women out of a total 38 panelists in recent episodes. Director of BBC Television Danny Cohen called the male-to-female ratio "unacceptable" and was very matter-of-fact about the all-male ban: "We're not going to have panel shows on any more with no women on them. You can't do that. It's unacceptable." BBC's entertainment controller Mark [...]

imports

UK Panel Show 'Have I Got News for You?' Is Coming to the US

by | November 6th, 2012

Have I Got News for You?, a comedic UK panel show, has been a staple of British television since it was launched 22 years ago, and now producer Jimmy Mulville is attempting to bring it to the US, according to UK comedy blog Such Small Portions. If the satirical program gets picked up, it'll make use of politicians from both parties as guests. Mulville shot off two tweets yesterday, saying, "Just landed in NY to make a pilot of HIGNFY for US TV. We've got host and team captains. All we need now are two guests for Friday" and "Wonder if Mitt Romney might be unexpectedly free [...]

British Comedy

A Guide to the Hilarious World of British Panel Shows

by | July 28th, 2011

For American comedy fans, British comedy calls to mind Monty Python and The Office. But in the UK right now, stand-up is front and center (centre, actually). The hugely popular observational comic Michael McIntyre is expected to pull in £20 million ($32.5 million) next year when he tours arenas around the UK and Ireland. While stand-up can increasingly be seen on British TV, it’s on comedy panel shows that many comedians make their names.

The format of the panel show is nothing new, nor particularly British. A group of comedians and celebrities are brought together to crack wise about a topic or theme, and then points are handed out [...]