Sky is to launch its own dedicated comedy channel. Sky Comedy, launching on January 27, will be the home of premium scripted US comedy from HBO, NBC and Showtime, including brand new acclaimed comedies like Mrs Fletcher, starring Kathryn Hahn, The Righteous Gemstones, starring John Goodman, Adam DeVine and Danny McBride, A.P. Bio and Sunnyside.
Sky Comedy will also air all new series of returning hit US shows like Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm and Ballers starring Dwayne Johnson. Top rated US talk shows like The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver will also be featured, as well as comedy titan Saturday Night Live and an enviable library of favourites like Will & Grace and Parks and Recreation.
Sky is also launching a dedicated crime channel, Sky Crime in October. Both channels will be available to all Sky customers at no extra charge, through linear and on demand. Both channels will also launch on NOW TV, available as part of the NOW TV Entertainment pass.
Zai Bennett, Managing Director of Content at Sky, said: “Sky Crime and Sky Comedy are fantastic additions to our entertainment portfolio, providing our customers with two new destinations for their favourite shows. Sky Crime, the home of premium true crime, will complement Sky Witness perfectly, while Sky Comedy is an exciting new proposition for Sky customers, offering them a daily dose of the best US comedy which will sit alongside our expanding slate of Sky Original comedy on Sky One. By investing in the best of the US as well as doubling our investment in original drama and comedy, we are making Sky an unbeatable destination for the best range of premium TV.”
The entertainment portfolio on Sky in UK and Ireland now includes six core Sky channel brands: Sky One, Sky Atlantic, Sky Witness, Sky Arts, Sky Crime (coming October 2019) and Sky Comedy (coming soon), alongside the Sky Cinema and Sky Kids services. Sky’s other channel brands include E!, SYFY, Pick and Challenge.
The introduction of the two new channels follows on from Sky’s recent launch of Sky Studios, a new Europe-wide development and production capability which will see Sky’s investment in original content more than double over the next five years.
Key upcoming launches on Sky Comedy include:
Mrs Fletcher: Comedy about a divorced woman who jumpstarts her love life by adopting a sexy new persona, leading to a world full of unexpected and sometimes complicated erotic possibilities.
Ballers: Success hits hard. Dwayne Johnson stars in this series as a retired football superstar trying to reinvent himself as a financial manager for current players in sun-soaked Miami.
Righteous Gemstones: Danny McBride (Eastbound & Down, Vice Principals) returns to HBO with The Righteous Gemstones, the story of a world-famous televangelist family with a long tradition of deviance, greed and charitable work. Main character Jesse Gemstone sees himself as a maverick in the ministry game, taking what his father, Eli Gemstone, has built and expanded it for a more modern audience.
