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Paramount Global has revealed the participants for its 2025 CBS Showcase, which will take place as a one-night live event hosted by program alums and “Ghosts” co-stars Sheila Carrasco and Punam Patel. The March 13 event marks the 20th anniversary of the Showcase initiative, which began in 2006 as a staged sketch show before transitioning into a charitable live stand-up event featuring emerging talent.

This year’s class of featured comedians includes Niles Abston, Sophie Buddle, Nico Carney, Fabrizio Copano, Tina Friml, Leslie Liao, Ever Mainard and Andrew Orolfo.

“For 20 years now, ‘Showcase’ has played a pivotal role in launching and amplifying the next generation of comedic voices,” said CBS’ Claudia Lyon (exec VP of talent and casting) and Dorey Poder(VP of talent and casting) in a joint statement. “We believe this select group of eight talented storytellers represent the bright future of comedy and could not be more excited to witness their incredible potential unfold.

Exclusive: Just For Laughs Montréal on Monday took the wraps off its annual New Faces of Comedy list for 2022, a group of 62 up-and-coming comics that have been selected to participate in Jfl’s showcases later this month.

The New Faces showcases have identified and helped launch many new comics since its creation in 1994, including the likes of Kevin Hart, Mike Birbiglia, Amy Schumer, Jo Koy, Pete Holmes, Kumail Nanjiani, Colin Jost, DeAnne Smith and Taylor Tomlinson among many more. See the full list of this year’s comics below.

This year’s showcases will roll out this week across in multiple events, with New Faces of Comedy hosted by Holmes on Wednesday. Others on the main list of faces will participate in New Faces of Comedy: Creators (hosted by podcasters Jake Hurwitz and Amir Blumenfeld), New Faces of Comedy: Unrepped (also hosted by Holmes), New Faces of Comedy: Canada (hosted...

Conor Oberst and Phoebe Bridgers play Conan production assistants on Meet the Conan Staff, the host’s new digital series on YouTube.

“Well, I sort of stumbled into the role of being the voice of the emo and indie rock movement,” Oberst says, introducing himself to the camera in an Office-like tone. “But that was just to pay the bills. Really, I wanted to break into late-night television production. I guess you could say I’m the Happy Gilmore of emo.”

Oberst acknowledges he doesn’t get special treatment...

The 2017 Outfest festival ran from July 6-16.

Los Angeles-based nonprofit Outfest has announced the award winners of its 2017 Outfest Los Angeles Lgbt Film Festival, presented by HBO.

The Us grand jury prize was awarded to Jennifer Reeder for her Chicago-set mother-daughter drama Signature Move (pictured), and the Us documentary grand jury prize went to Catherine Gund and Daresha Kyi’s Chavela profiling artist Chavela Vargas.

The Chances, created by Shoshanna Stern and Josh Feldman and directed by Anna Kerrigan, won the Best Narrative Audience Award, while the Audience Award for Best First Us Narrative Feature went to Albert Alarr for A Million Happy Nows.

Outfest’s International grand jury prize was awarded to South African film The Wound, directed by John Trengove. The Us Narrative Jury Prize Best Actor went to Luka Kain for his performance in Saturday Church, while the Us Narrative Jury Prize Best Actress was awarded to Ever Mainard for her role in [link...