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Comedy Central creates new Creators Program to develop new talent, announces first five participants

Comedy Central today announced the launch of The Creators Program, a new digital initiative to identify, develop and launch the next new things in comedy.

Nate Dern, formerly artistic director at the UCB-NY, and more recently at Funny or Die, will head up the Creators team, which starts with five comedians selected from more than 1,000 initial applicants. As Comedy Central Creators, Ryan Beck, Chris Cotton, Hanna Dickinson, Jordan Mendoza and Natasha Vaynblat will write, produce and star in not only a daily show on Comedy Central’s social media platforms that talks about the news o’ the day, but also a weekly scripted series going behind the scenes of the network.

“The Creators Program is one of the most ambitious projects Comedy Central has undertaken in terms of size, scope and commitment in the digital and social arena,” said Jennifer Danielson, SVP, Digital, Comedy Central. “Working with the creators as the foundation allows Comedy Central to stay true to its core in terms of talent and development while also leveraging the brand’s enormous social footprint to reach and engage fans.”

 

The Creators Program Bios

Nate Dern (Head of Creative, The Creators Program): Nate Dern was previously a Senior Writer at Funny Or Die and the Artistic Director of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. His first book, Not Quite a Genius, a collection of comedic essays and stories, was recently published by Simon & Schuster. Nate’s TV debut was as a contestant on the CW’s Beauty and the Geek.

Ryan Beck: Ryan Beck is a comedian originally from St. Louis, Missouri. He has appeared on MTV’s Girl Code, Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and has been a guest on The Bob & Tom Show and Sirius XM. Ryan has also written, produced and starred in his own web series “#RyanBeckShow” and the interactive short film We Need To Talk. Ryan regularly performs at New York Comedy Club, Stand Up NY, Caroline’s on Broadway and his monthly show The Big Weird. He has completed two degrees from the University of Missouri, and advanced training at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City.

Chris Cotton: Born and raised in Philadelphia, Chris has been a regular on the stand-up comedy scene in the City of Brotherly Love. With his easy-going style, Chris’ set topics tend to include pop culture, current events, his marriage to his lovely wife, and growing up in Philly. As a writer, Chris has written and acted in numerous sketches, television shows and contributed to developing commercial advertising.

Hanna Dickinson: Hanna is a New York based comedian most known for her appearance in a Korean weight-loss supplement commercial as the role of “before.” She graduated from University of Southern California and recently wrote on season 3 of truTV’s Comedy Knockout. Hanna performs regularly in clubs and bars around New York City.

Jordan Mendoza: Jordan Mendoza is a writer, comedian, and video maker based in New York City. He co-hosts the live show Drunk Science (featured in The New York Times & Gothamist) and was a finalist of the truTV Comedy Breakout Initiative. Time Out named him a “Rising New York comedian primed to break big.” Jordan directs, writes, DPs, and edits videos with his groups jordymartybrooks and DUMB Video, and his animated short film was awarded final selection at the Moët Moment Film Festival. His comedy has appeared on Funny Or Die and Reductress and was profiled by The Daily Dot.

Natasha Vaynblat: Natasha Vaynblat is a stand-up comedian, performer at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, and creator of the fashion parody Instagram @natashawearsclothes. In addition to making digital content for Above Average, UCB Comedy and IFC Comedy Crib, Natasha was most recently an NBC Late Night Writers Workshop 2018 Fellow. Natasha will be performing at Caroline’s on Broadway this spring in the Best of the Breakout Artist Series.

Sean L. McCarthy

Editor and publisher since 2007, when he was named New York's Funniest Reporter. Former newspaper reporter at the New York Daily News, Boston Herald and smaller dailies and community papers across America. Loves comedy so much he founded this site.

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