The stern Arab mother, the Emirati with his hooded falcon and nostalgia for Beirut, all these themes got the humorous treatment by very talented  Arab comedians filming live stand-up performances at the urban-luxe ‘Square’, at JW Marriott Marquis Hotel in Dubai.

Comedy Central, division of Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN), is bringing back its first-ever local production; Comedy Central Presents. The new seasons are set to premiere on the pay-TV network OSN from January 2018.

Speaking to BroadcastPro ME, Tracey Grant, Vice President Content and Channels, Middle East said: “We are  bringing in 70 comedians for 12 nights of filming for 24 episodes for seasons 2 and 3. Tonight is the English night, but the majority of the performances on other nights will be in Arabic. Response for season one was phenomenal. We went across territories including countries such as Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon, to discover the 70 talents who will be performing.”

On creating local content, Amalia Martinez de Velasco, Senior Vice President Entertainment Brands for VIMN Southern & Western Europe, Middle East and Africa commented: “VIMN is committed to building on our success and will continue to invest in new projects in the Middle East.”

For the new seasons, the local team conducted a comedy search across the MENA region at a series of regional workshops and open mic nights which took place at Kharabeesh in Amman, Jordan, at Retroactive in Beirut, Lebanon and at Bar’Oro in Cairo, Egypt, ensuring a diverse Middle Eastern line-up for the show.

The team, Grant explained, searched for laugh-out-loud content and helped aspiring talent hone their comical skills through a range of workshops hosted by Emirati, Ali Sayed and Saudi, Khaled Omar. The duo shared learnings and skills with the up-and-coming comedians, from creative writing and comedy styles to punch lines and the all-important use of timing.

Comedy Central Presents was the first stand-up comedy production in the MENA region since the channel launched in May 2016 and the channel’s first Arabic production. For the first season, the show gathered over 30 of the region’s Arab comedians for a series of live shows taped in Dubai. The show featured talent from across the Middle East to create content, involving talent from the UAE, Egypt, Sudan, Jordan, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. The diverse group was made up of both established professional comedians and first-timers who performed in Arabic and English, blending international and regional tastes and perspectives on humour.

 Season Two will premiere in January exclusively on Comedy Central HD on OSN channel 207 from January 2018.