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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: Brillstein Entertainment Partners is expanding its comedy ranks, adding Alex Goodman, Rachel Helix and Turner Byfuglin as managers.

The three join Brillstein from Levity Entertainment Group. Goodman and Helix had been at Levity for about a decade; Helix spent her entire tenure there as a manger, Goodman was promoted to manager seven years ago. Both worked with Turner who was a coordinator at Levity and will become a manager at Brillstein.

Goodman, Helix and Byfuglin all specialize in comedy, representing more than 30 comedic multi-hyphenates with a focus on comedy touring and other live entertainment.

Joining Goodman, Helix and Byfuglin at Brillstein will be clients Aaron Weber, Andrea Jin, Brandon Rogers, Brian Simpson, Chad Daniels, Che Durena, Chelcie Lynn, Chike Robinson, Deb Digiovanni, Gianmarco Soresi, Ian Edwards, Jason Cheny, Jessie Jetski Johnson, Jesus Trejo, Joe Dombrowski, Jr De Guzman, Kam Patterson, King Hassan, Laura Peek, Lenarr Young, Leslie Liao, Lukas McCrary,...

Over the last six years, Leslie Liao has been living a double life.

By day, she’s an employee in the Hr department at Netflix — by night, a fast-rising stand-up comic. “I tried to keep both parts of my life very compartmentalized,” Liao tells Deadline of her rise from beginner to emerging comic during her time at the streamer. “So, it almost was like a Superman-Clark Kent thing.”

Now, though, Liao is going full Superman, after landing a stand-up special with the company she was working for in an entirely different capacity.

Liao is among the rising comedic stars doing short sets in Verified Stand-Up, a two-part special that dropped on the service November 28th. She first came to Netflix’s attention, as a performer, while performing in front of its stand-up team at L.A. venue Dynasty Typewriter.

While working at Netflix, Liao says, she hasn’t actively hid her artistic aspirations.

Netflix is bringing back its “Netflix Is a Joke Fest,” which so far has lined up more than 300 live events across 35 venues in Los Angeles. The event, last held in 2022, will include Jerry Seinfeld, Jim Gaffigan, Nate Bargatze and Sebastian Maniscalco in a night of comedy at the Hollywood Bowl; also holding stand-up shows there are Bill Burr, John Mulaney, Seth Rogen, Matt Rife, Kevin Hart, Trevor Noah and a joint show with Taylor Tomlinson, Sarah Silverman, Nikki Glaser and Michelle Buteau.

Netflix produces the festival with Live Nation; this year’s event will take place from May 2 to May 12, 2024. Besides the Bowl, other venues on tap include The Greek, The Dolby, The Forum, The Palladium, Orpheum Theatre and The Wiltern, as well as well as comedy venues including The Hollywood Improv, Largo, Laugh Factory and The Comedy Store.

“This is a special time for comedy, both for Netflix and the genre at large,...

Next month, a handful of stand-up comedians are heading to Netflix in a brand-new special. Today, the streamer announced a multi-comic special entitled Verified Stand-Up. It will feature 10 comedians total in 10 different short form sets. The roster boasts an impressive bunch of comedians from diverse backgrounds, including Asif Ali, Dulcé Sloan, Nimesh Patel, Gianmarco Soresi, Isiah J. Kelly, Leslie Liao, Robby Hoffman, Rosebud Baker, Sabrina Wu, and Vanessa Gonzalez. The special will consist of two episodes, with each set filmed at Webster Hall in New York City. It was directed by Linda Mendoza and executive produced by Anne Harris. Verified Stand-Up premieres November 23.

Exclusive: Netflix on Monday morning unveiled Verified Stand-Up, a new series featuring short sets from 10 comedians that’s set to premiere globally on November 28. Rising comedians that perform in the two-parter, filmed at Webster Hall in New York City, include Asif Ali, Dulcé Sloan, Gianmarco Soresi, Isiah Kelly, Leslie Liao, Nimesh Patel, Robby Hoffman, Rosebud Baker, Sabrina Wu, and Vanessa Gonzalez.

News of Netflix’s new stand-up series comes following its announcement of Improv: 60 And Still Standing, a comedy special celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Improv comedy clubs, which is set to premiere November 7th. Top comics dropping in for short sets as part of that project included Anjelah Johnson-Reyes, Bert Kreischer, Craig Robinson, Deon Cole, Fortune Feimster, Jeff Dunham, Kevin Nealon, Mark Normand, Jo Koy, and Whitney Cummings.

Linda Mendoza directed Verified Stand-Up, with Anne Harris serving as executive producer.

Previously seen on Disney+’s WandaVision and The Mandalorian,...

The Just For Laughs Comedy Festival has unveiled its list of top up-and-coming comedians in New York, Los Angeles and elsewhere, who are set to participate in the New Faces of Comedy showcase later this week. The event is a traditional launch pad for major Hollywood talent like Kevin Hart, Amy Schumer, Kumail Nanjiani and Jimmy Fallon.

The success of their careers makes New Faces the industry’s biggest coming-out party for rising stand-up talent serious business. Young hopefuls eyeing Hollywood development deals grab the microphone at Just For Laughs in Montreal to draw laughter from a club audience as Los Angeles talent scouts, comedy agents and managers, TV execs and club bookers look on.

No pressure there. Abbott Elementary creator Quinta Brunson, who will receive the best comedy person award at the Just For Laughs ComedyPro conference later this week, was part of the New Faces comic discovery program in 2017.

Over three days,...