JUST FOR LAUGHS MONTRÉAL CRANKS UP THE HEAT THIS SUMMER

 

JUST FOR LAUGHS MONTRÉAL CRANKS UP THE HEAT
THIS SUMMER, ADDING EVEN MORE OF
COMEDY’S HOTTEST STARS TO THE
40TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

 

REVEALED TODAY ARE THE RECIPIENTS OF THE PRESTIGIOUS
JUST FOR LAUGHS AWARDS SHOW

 

This year’s recipients include,

 

AMY SCHUMER to accept
COMEDY PERSON OF THE YEAR

 

HASAN MINHAJ to accept
STAND UP COMEDIAN OF THE YEAR

 

TAYLOR TOMLINSON to accept
BREAKOUT COMEDY STAR OF THE YEAR

 

and

 

JERROD CARMICHAEL to accept
COMEDY SPECIAL OF THE YEAR

 

With more to be announced in the coming weeks

 

THIS YEAR’S COMEDYPRO PROGRAMMING ROLLS OUTBUZZWORTHY CAST PANELS, RIVETING PITCH SESSIONS, INDUSTRY ADDRESSES, AND BREAKOUT LIVE PODCASTS

 

ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCES ALSO ADDED INCLUDING A 2NDSHOW FOR AMY SCHUMER!

 

AS WELL AS FOR OFF-JFL!

 

MONTRÉAL (JUNE 29, 2022)–Just For Laughs MONTRÉAL, in collaboration with Loto-Québec, continues to solidify its stature as the hottest comedy festival of the summer by adding even more extraordinary programming to this year’s fest across all properties.

 

The renowned industry conference, ComedyPRO, excitingly reveals their must-attend programming, running from July 27-30, 2022. One of themost talked about comedy red carpets of the year returns with the prestigious Just For Laughs Awards Show. This year features an epiclineup of worthy recipients who entertained, interrupted and influenced the comedy world in the last year.

 

Cast panels return with some of today’s newest and buzzworthy comedy films and television series, while the career-breaking pitch panels, top performing live podcasts and thought-provoking industry addresseshelp round out this year’s ComedyPRO offerings.

 

The festival is also excited to share additional shows added as part of JFL and OFF-JFL. From July 13-31, 2022, be prepared to laugh out loud and experience the best of what comedy has to offer!

 

JUST FOR LAUGHS AWARDS SHOW

 

The biggest names in comedy will come together in Montréal this summer for the renowned 2022 Just For Laughs Awards Show. This year’s red carpet and award show will take place on Friday, July 29, 2022 in the Grand Salon at the DoubleTree by Hilton Montréal. Don't miss this unfilteredappreciation of a cohort of comedy stars who shone bright this year, honored by (and possibly roasted!) by the people who know them best...their friends, colleagues, and fellow artists.

 

Announced today are the first of this year’s coveted award recipients:

 

Amy Schumer is receiving the Comedy Person of the Year award. Amy Schumer is an Emmy-winning and Golden Globe-nominated standup comedian, actress, writer, producer and director. Schumer is the creator, star, writer and executive producer of the wildly popular “Inside Amy Schumer,” the multi award-winning TV series that ran for four seasons on Comedy Central. Schumer’s successful film career was propelled with Universal Pictures film Trainwreck(2015), which dominated the worldwide box office as the hit summer comedy. She went on to win the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Actress in a Comedy; and was nominated for a Writers’ Guild Award in the category of Original Screenplay. That same year, the BAFTAs honoured Schumer with The Charlie Chaplin Britannia Award for Excellence in Comedy. Schumer’s one-hour Netflix Comedy special titled “The Leather Special'' earned her a nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Variety Special. Her one-hour HBO comedy special, “Amy Schumer: Live at the Apollo'' directed by Chris Rock, premiered on October 17, 2015, and was HBO’s most watched Saturday night comedy special debut since December 2009. Schumer’s first book, The New York Times bestseller “The Girl with The Lower Back Tattoo” earned her a 2017 Grammy Award nomination for Best Spoken Word Album, and was released in paperback in August 2017. In July 2020, Schumer’s three-part documentary series, “Expecting Amy” premiered on HBO Max. Most recently, Schumer co-hosted the 94th Academy Awards alongside Wanda Sykes and Regina Hall. She also wrote, executive produced, directed and starred in her critically-acclaimed 10-episode comedy series “LIFE & BETH”, now streaming on Hulu and Disney+. Often touring theatres and arenas all over the world, Schumer returns to Montreal this summer!

 

Hasan Minhaj isreceiving the Stand Up Comedian of the Year award. Minhaj, who started his career in 2014 as a Just For Laughs New Face, was the host and creator of the weekly comedy show Patriot Act with Hasan Minhajthat premiered on Netflix in October 2018. The show received a 2019 Peabody Award, a 2019 Primetime Emmy Award for “Outstanding Motion Design,” and was recognized for a 2020 Television Academy Honor. A first generation American, Minhaj joined The Daily Show with Jon Stewart as a correspondent in November 2014, where he was Jon’s last hire. His recent tour, The King’s Jester Tour is coming to Montreal this summer, after having just broken the record in Toronto for being the first comedian to ever play four sold out shows at the Coca Cola Coliseum.

 

Taylor Tomlinson is receiving the Breakout Comedy Star of the Year award. Tomlinson was named one of Forbes’ ”30 Under 30” in 2021, and exploded onto the international stage when her one-hour special Quarter-Life Crisis debuted on Netflix. Her latest special, Look At You, dropped earlier this year to international critical praise. Taylor returns to the festival this year to receive this coveted award, after having her big break as part of the 2017 New Faces cohort.

 

Jerrod Carmichaelis receiving the Comedy Special of the Year award for his critically acclaimed HBO special Rothaniel. Comedian, actor, writer, producer and director, Jerrod Carmichael began his professional comedy career in 2011, when he was named one of Just For Laughs’ respected New Faces. He has since recorded three HBO specials, including the two previous Love at the Store and 8.He co-created, co-wrote, produced and starred in the semi-autobiographical NBC sitcom The Carmichael Show.

 

With more to be announced in the coming weeks

 

KEYNOTE ADDRESSES

 

This year’s festival will see three very special keynote addresses from some of today’s influential comedy voices, experts and insiders.

 

Neal Brennan will deliver one of this year’s renowned keynote speeches. Brennan’s second one-man show Neal Brennan: Unacceptable opened in previews for a six-week run at The Cherry Lane Theatre in NYC on August 25th, 2021. Neal is currently a writer, creative consultant, and on-air correspondent on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. He served as Executive Producer on Chris Rock’s latest standup special Chris Rock: Tambourine. Neal co-created Comedy Central’s legendary Chappelle’s Show, for which he received three Emmy nominations; one for directing, one for writing, and one for producing.

 

Amanda Seales will also be delivering a keynote address at this year’s festival. Seales is a comedian, actress, writer and producer who was a former MTV VJ, and starred in HBO’s Insecure, and guest-starred on ABC’s Blackish. Her debut standup special, I Be Knowin was released on HBO in 2019, prior to hosting NBC’s comedy competition series, Bring the Funny.

 

Sophie Buddlewill deliver the Canadian keynote address this year. Buddle is a standup comedian, T.V. writer and podcaster dominating the North American comedy scene right now, having been seen on CTV Comedy’s Roast Battle Canada, CBC’s This Hour Has 22 Minutes, JFL’s All Access, and her wildly popular podcast, Obsessed with Sophie Buddle. Her upcoming Crave special, Smile, Baby, will be released later this year.

 

CASTPANELS

 

Get up close and personal with some of the mastermind creators behind today’s newest and most popular comedy T.V. series and films! ComedyPRO is peeling back the curtain and inviting diehard comedy fans to listen in to the intimate conversations between these established creatives.

 

Universal Pictures presents Easter Sunday: A Cast and Creators Panel
ComedyPRO proudly hosts an exclusive all-star cast panel for this summer’s raucous, riotous, ground-breaking new comedy,EASTER SUNDAY, from Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures, in theaters everywhere August 5. Global stand-up comedy sensation Jo Koy(Jo Koy: In His Elements, Jo Koy: Comin’ in Hot) stars as a man returning home for an Easter celebration with his boisterous, bickering, eating, drinking, laughing, loving family, in this love letter to his Filipino-American community. Joining us for this hilarious and intimate panel are Jo Koy, Easter Sunday director Jay Chandrasekhar(Super Troopers, The Dukes of Hazzard, I Love You, Man), co-star Asif Ali(WandaVision), and co-star and executive producer Jimmy O. Yang(Silicon Valley series).

 

CBC original hit comedy series Son Of A Critch will be engaging in a cast panel at this summer’s festival, featuring showrunners Tim McAuliffe(Fox’s The Last Man on Earth and NBC’s The Office) and Mark Critch(CBC’s This Hour Has 22 Minutes), and cast members Malcolm McDowell(Warner Bros’ A Clockwork Orange), Claire Rankin(STX Entertainment’s Molly’s Game), and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth(Walt Disney's Pinocchio). Since the premiere on January 4th, Son of a Critch has ranked as the most-watched original Canadian comedy in the country and as one of the top five most-watched comedies overall (including U.S shows) in Canada. Son of a Critch has been renewed for a second season and filming is set to commence in St. John’s this summer.

 

BET+ Presents: The Journey to Ms. Pat the series will be appearing at ComedyPRO, featuring comedian and star, Ms. Pat, as well as series’ co-creator Jordan E.Cooper and co-EP Jon Radler. The sitcom is based on the comedy and life story of Ms. Pat, as a convicted felon from the streets of Atlanta turned into a reluctant suburban mother. The panel will be moderated by BET+’s Executive Vice President & General Manager, Devin Griffin.

 

VARIETY 10 COMICS TO WATCH

 

Showcasing an eclectic group of talent in all forms of comedy, from stand-up, to sketch and web content,Variety’s “10 Comics to Watch” Showcase exposes audiences to the artists making waves in the comedy industry. Variety will host a panel and evening showcase with some of thisyear’s comics who have been listed. The 2022 cohort of artists include: Rosebud Baker, J.R. De Guzman, Vanessa Gonzalez, Jay Jurden, Matteo Lane, Claudia O’Doherty, Atsuko Okatsuka, Blair Socci, Moses Storm and Sheng Wang.

 

PITCH SESSIONS

 

Over the last 10+ years, ComedyPRO has become the go-to conference and key destination for both aspiring and established comedy showrunners, writers, directors, comedy creators, agents and managers. This year’s pitch sessions will showcase an impressive line-up of thematically and creatively diverse new program ideas, representing a broad range of talent.

 

The CBC returns this year as host of the ever-popular CBC Comedy Pitch Program, showcasing a homegrown selection of exciting new, scripted, animated and unscripted work. Sarah Quan, Executive in Charge of Development, Comedy, and Sandra Picheca, Director of Current Production, Comedy will be joined on stage by an all-star lineup of talent hailing from some of the CBC’s most beloved shows, to hear project pitches from this new crop of Canada’s most noteworthy rising comedy creators.

 

Past participants and winners of the CBC Comedy Pitch include the award-winning The Communists Daughter, How To Buy A Baby, and My 90-Year-Old Roommate and projects from fan favorites Willem Wennekers, Precious Chong, Geri Hall, Leonard Chan, and Courtney Gilmour.

 

ComedyPRO’s long running and highly sought-after pitch program, Stand Up & Pitch, Presented by Project 10 Productions, is back for the 10thyear. High-powered teams of comedy executives will offer their invaluable insight to a curated selection of new projects, aimed at broadcast and streaming audiences. These pitch panels will be moderated by Ben Murray, President of Project 10 and other tv veterans who will give feedback in all areas of comedy development, production and programming.

 

ACAST PRESENTS THE COMEDYPRO
PREMIUM PODCAST SERIES

 

Live podcasts are always some of the most fun interactive programming as part of ComedyPRO! This year, the festival will be offering an array of top-rated podcasts, including Chrissy Chaos with Chris Distefano, You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes, That’s Messed Up: An SVU Podcast with Liza Treyer and Kara Klenk, Obsessed with Sophie Buddle, Robert Kelly’s You Know What Dude!, Find Your Beach, The 500 with Josh Adam Meyers,My Momma Told Me with LangstonKerman, Dear Owen Wilson, HonesTEA with Z, The Juice with Solomon Georgio, The Call Girls with Jessica Kirson and Rachel Feinstein, LongDays with Yannis Pappas,and Howie Mandel Does Stuff with more to be announced soon!

 

Acast’s Random Order the #1 podcast about anything and Off Menu with Ed Gamble and James Acaster will also be hot ticket items! Comedians Ed Gamble and James Acaster invite special guests into their magical restaurant to each choose their favourite starter, main course, side dish, dessertand drink. Ever wanted to eat your dream meal? It’s time to order Off Menu.

 

NEW FACES

 

Returning to host the internationally renowned discovery showcase, New Faces and New Faces: Unrepped this year is none other than former New Face, Pete Holmes! After having been the master of ceremonies at the 2019 festival, Holmes, who currently stars in CBS’ How We Roll, and created and starred in HBO’s Crashing, is back this summer!

 

If I Were You podcast hosts, Jake Huriwtz and Amir Blumenfeld are flexing their hosting muscles this summer to host the coveted New Faces: Creators showcase!

 

New Faces will be taking place on Wednesday, July 27 2022 at 7:00 PM & 9:30 PM at Monument National: Ludger-Duvernay.

 

New Faces: Creators will be taking place on Thursday, July 28 2022 at 1:30 PM at Grand Salon Opera

 

New Faces: Unrepped will be taking place on Thursday, July 28 2022 at 9:30 PM at Monument National: Ludger-Duvernay.

 

AdditionalNew Facesshowcases will take place:

 

New Faces: Characters will be taking place on Thursday, July 28 2022 at 7:00 PM at Monument National: Ludger-Duvernay.

 

New Faces: Canada will be taking place on Friday, July 29 2022 at 9:30 PM at Monument National: Ludger-Duvernay.

 

New Faces: International will be taking place on Friday, July 29 2022 at 7:00 PM at Monument National: Ludger-Duvernay.

 

SOLO SHOWS

 

We told you we weren’t finished yet! Even more crowd-pleasing standup performances will be taking place at this year’s festival.

 

**NEW SHOW ADDED!**Amy Schumer: Whore Tour -Saturday, July 30 2022 | Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier at Place Des Arts | 9:45 PM
Amy Schumer is an Emmy-winning and Golden Globe-nominated standup comedian, actress, writer, producer and director. Schumer is the creator, star, writer and executive producer of the wildly popular “Inside Amy Schumer,” the multi award-winning TV series thatran for four seasons on Comedy Central. Schumer’s successful film career was propelled with Universal Pictures film Trainwreck(2015), which dominated the worldwide box office as the hit summer comedy. She went on to win the Critics’ Choice Award for BestActress in a Comedy; and was nominated for a Writers’ Guild Award in the category of Original Screenplay. That same year, the BAFTAs honoured Schumer with The Charlie Chaplin Britannia Award for Excellence in Comedy. Schumer’s one-hour Netflix Comedy special titled “The Leather Special'' earned her a nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Variety Special. Her one-hour HBO comedy special, “Amy Schumer: Live at the Apollo'' directed by Chris Rock, premiered on October 17, 2015, and was HBO’smost watched Saturday night comedy special debut since December 2009. Schumer’s first book, The New York Times bestseller “The Girl with The Lower Back Tattoo” earned her a 2017 Grammy Award nomination for Best Spoken Word Album, and was released in paperback in August 2017. In July 2020, Schumer’s three-part documentary series, “Expecting Amy” premiered on HBO Max. Most recently, Schumer co-hosted the 94th Academy Awards alongside Wanda Sykes and Regina Hall. She also wrote, executive produced, directed and starred in her critically-acclaimed 10-episode comedy series “LIFE & BETH”, now streaming on Hulu and Disney+. Often touring theatres and arenas all over the world, Schumer returns to Montreal this summer!

 

Jerrod Carmichael -Thursday, July 28, 2022 |Le Studio TD | 9:30 PM
Jerrod Carmichael is a comedian, actor, writer, Producer and Director from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. His new special Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel is now streaming on HBO.

 

Amanda Seales: An Evening with Amanda Seales -Thursday, July 28, 2022 | Club Soda | 9:30 PM
Comedian, actress, writer, and producer, Amanda Seales doesn’t just make you laugh, she makes change! With an uncanny knack for taking serious topics (racism, rape culture, sexism, police brutality, etc.) and with humor, making them relatable and interesting, she combines intellectual wit, silliness, and a pop culture obsession to create her unique style of smart funny content for the stage and screens. Along with performing stand up across the globe and touring colleges doing comedic lectures, this former MTV VJ is a series regular on HBO’s Insecure, and has guest starred on Blackish. She released her debut stand up special on HBO titled I Be Knowinin 2019, and hosted NBC’s comedy competition series Bring The Funny. Most recently, it was announced that she will perform “The Black Outside Again Weekend with Amanda Seales” at the Kennedy Center this July.

 

Pete Holmes: Pete Holmes & Friends -Friday, July 29, 2022 | Club Soda | 9:30 PM
Pete Holmes is a nationally touring standup comedian, actor, improviser, writer, cartoonist, and late-night host. He currently hosts the wildly popular podcast, You Made It Weird, which is a comedic exploration of the meaning of life with guests ranging from Deepak Chopra and Elizabeth Gilbert to Seth Rogen and Garry Shandling. This year, Pete starred in the primetime CBS bowling sitcom, How We Roll. In March 2019, Pete’s semi-autobiographical HBO comedy series, Crashing, that he created, starred in, and executive-produced, alongside Judd Apatow, celebrated its third and final season.

 

Chris Distefano -Friday, July 29, 2022 | Club Soda | 7:00 PM
Chris Distefano is one of today's biggest and most beloved names in comedy. Chris quickly rose to success after being named the funniest person on MTV for his show-stopping performances on theGuy Code/Girl Code series. From there, he went on to star in IFC’s Benders, co-host the Netflix gameshow Ultimate Beastmaster,and even had his own CBS sitcom. Chris released his Comedy Central special 38 Waist, which perfectly encompassed both his Brooklyn-born edge and nice-guy charm. When Chris isn’t on stage delivering his gut-busting jokes, you can catch him in his element in the comfort of his own couch where he records his wildly successful podcasts, “Chrissy Chaos” and “Hey Babe”, alongside Impractical Jokers' Sal Vulcano. Chris’ second full-length special, Speshy Weshy, premiered on Netflix this past May.

 

If I Were You Live -Wednesday, July 27, 2022 | Maison Theatre | 9:30 PM
Jake Hurwitz and Amir Blumenfeld bring their advice podcast "If I Were You" to the stage! Join our hosts as they dispense wisdom on areas of life theyare qualified to talk about. Also, in areas they are not qualified to talk about.

 

OFF-JFL

 

OFF-JFL adds more artists to their already robust lineup this summer, including performances from Big Jay Oakerson, Dave Merheje, Yannis Pappas, Preacher Lawson,Ms. Pat, Rachel Feinstein, Nimesh Patel, Nish Kumar, Sheng Wang, Aida Rodriguez, Sam Campbell, Zoë Coombs Marr, Solomon Georgio, Sklar Brothers, Zainab Johnson, and Surrounded.

 

This year, New Faces: Encore is part of OFF-JFL, offering comedy fans the opportunity to check out the sets from this year’s coveted New Faces cohort, from all 4 series: New Faces of Comedy, New Faces of Comedy: International, New Faces of Comedy: Unrepped, New Faces of Comedy: Canada, New Faces of Comedy: Characters.

 

JFL ORIGINALS TAPINGS

 

The Just For Laughs record label JFL Originals will also be a part of the 2022 festival in Montreal. Including some of the very best comedians in Canada, JFL Originals will be audio-recording live multi-comic showcases in downtown Montreal on July 31 at 7pm and 9:30pm at Theatre Saint-Catherine. Content produced from these recordings will be released worldwide in album format in the autumn of 2022.

 

Celebrating its 40th anniversary this summer thefestival is on track to be better than ever. More special guests and surprise announcements to come so stay tuned!

 

Just For Laughs MONTRÉAL would like to thank its public partners: Government of Canada, Government du Québec, City of Montréal and Tourisme Montréal, as well as their sponsors: Loto-Québec, Beneva, born from the coming together of La Capitale and SSQ Insurance, Boston Pizza, Groupe Maurice, GoDaddy and Old Dutch for their support.

 

TICKET DETAILS:

 

Tickets will be available to the public on Wednesday, June 29, 2022 at 10:00AM at www.hahaha.com

 

Looking for the best way to experience Just For Laughs MONTRÉAL? Get a JFLMTL Pass! Passes available include: the JFL 2-Show Pass for $109.99, 3-Show Pass for $149.99 and 5-Show Pass for $225. Each pass includes up to 12 free tickets from July 13 to July 31 (some restrictions apply).

 

Just For Laughs ComedyPRO runs from July 27-30, 2022 at the DoubleTree By Hilton Montréal, as part of the 40th annual Just for Laughs MONTRÉAL Festival. Various ComedyPRO passes are available for purchase at www.comedypro.hahaha.com. NEW STUDENT Pass gives you access to many events and live shows throughout ComedyPRO and networking opportunities. You must present your student card upon picking up your Student Pass at the event.

 

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ABOUT JUST FOR LAUGHS GROUP
Founded in 1983, the Just For Laughs Group is the most important player in the global comedy industry co-owned by Groupe CH, Bell Media and ICM Partners. The company is an international powerhouse in the creation of multi-platform comedy content. Every year, it entertains millions of spectators with its festivals on Canadian and international stages, in Montréal –the biggest comedy event in the world –as well as in Toronto, Vancouver; Austin, U.S.A., Sydney, Australia and London, U.K. The Group organizes shows featuring thousands of comics from Canada and other countries, including established artists as well as up-and-comers; stages its own comedy shows and musicals; produces touring shows; broadcasts digital and televised content (notably Gags, which is shown in 150 countries and followed by an online audience of ten million on YouTube); manages talented artists; and is the originator of the ComedyPRO and JPR Pro industry conferences. www.hahaha.com

 

Press Contact:
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