Comedy Central UK has commissioned a third series of the hugely successful Roast Battle UK. The series will continue to be hosted by Jimmy Carr, with Jonathan Ross and Katherine Ryan once again taking up their positions in the judging panel line-up.
The five stand-alone episodes, which will begin filming in London this October, will maintain its winning mix of top comedians and new faces sparring it out, as they strive to take each other down with their quick wit and best insults. Each episode will culminate with one of two comedians crowned winner by the all-star judging panel. The series will continue to be co -produced by Fulwell 73 and IDEASATRON and will air in early 2019 on Comedy Central UK.
The second series of Roast Battle UK launches on Comedy Central UK on Monday 1st October and follows on the huge success of the first series, which aired earlier this year in January. The series proved a programming hit for the channel, smashing all previous ratings records and becoming Comedy Central’s highest-rated UK commission in its history. Overall, the series was up +317% for Adults 000s and up +367% for 16-34s 000s vs. slot average.
Louise Holmes, Vice President, General Manager, Comedy Central UK said: “Roast Battle UK is a unique format that has really struck a chord with our viewers. We can’t wait to get started on the new series with the darkest and sharpest comedians in the UK to give more jaw-dropping, gasp out loud moments to our studio audiences and viewers at home.”
The format has also travelled well internationally. This year alone, original broadcaster Comedy Central US launched its third season, whilst local adaptations of the format have been confirmed for Z Channel in French Speaking Canada (season 1 in production), and on Comedy Central’s own channels in Mexico (season 1, aired August 2018) and South Africa (season 2 aired July 2018). Earlier this year, it was announced that Viacom International Media Networks had struck the first ever-international sale for Roast Battle UK with Finnish public broadcaster, YLE, who obtained the VOD finished rights to the series.
This announcement of series three in the UK underlines Comedy Central UK’s ongoing push to diversify its British comedy offering and increase the volume of non-scripted comedy it broadcasts, all of which has helped to drive the channel to its current position of #3 entertainment channel.
