Laughs renewed for four more Saturday nights on FOX

This won’t be the last week you’ll be seeing Laughs on your TV late on a Saturday night.

The stand-up showcase created by Steve Hofstetter is wrapping up a 13-week tryout in 11 FOX TV markets nationwide (airing at midnight Saturdays in New York City and Los Angeles up against Saturday Night Live, and various other weekend slots in the other markets).

But Hofstetter revealed over the weekend that he’d earned a four-episode extension, or through Nov. 22, 2014. And he told fans via social media, “If we up ratings by 10%, we can all but guarantee full renewal.”

He’s filming comedians in three shows tonight at Broadway Comedy Club in NYC, with more comedians and showcases supplying the jokes and footage over the coming two weeks:

Hofstetter first told The Comic’s Comic about his plans for Laughs back in July. Once filming began, however, he faced a “Do Not Work” order from SAG-AFTRA and criticism from comedians about paying talent more in exposure and future bookings than in appearance fees.

In a message to friends and fans on Facebook over the weekend, Hofstetter revealed that the highs of receiving more episodes of Laughs was counterbalanced by the death of his father last week. You can see him talk about his father in last weekend’s episode.

As for what’s next for Laughs? Hofstetter claimed: “What I enjoy most about “Laughs” is being able to share my comedy family with a larger audience. Their appearances on “Laughs” led some of them to agents, to record deals, and to tons of great gigs. Hell, one of them even had their high school girlfriend reach out to them to re-kindle. Hard to top that as a success story. But for this extension, things will get even better. Every artist who appears on the show will be paid for their appearance, right down to Tweets and Vines. We’re already in the process of booking a college and club tour of some of the show’s acts. And we’re working on a “Best of Laughs” album series, where 100% of the sales and the royalties go to the artists. We’re not only doing more episodes, but we’re doing them right. This is, and will be, a job well done.”

He also said he’d established The Martin Grant, named after his father, a fund that “will be awarded in order to aid a talented comedian with rent, car payments, or anything else that will help them focus on developing their art. A panel of some of the most influential television executives, comedy club owners, talent agents, and managers will view applications and eventually decide a winner.” It’s raising the grant money by selling a Reddit-themed comedy T-shirt.

If you’ve missed the first 12 episodes of Laughs or don’t live in a market where it’s currently airing, then you can watch all of it online via YouTube. Here you go: