While its output isn’t always exceedingly celebratory, Comedy Central should forever be lauded for constantly funneling stand-up comics into people's lives. Nerdist-friendly comedian Kurt Braunohler is being prepped as the latest funnyman to host his very own pilot for the network, and he’ll be taking on subject matter that everyone can get down with: WTF news.
Should this pilot turn into something bigger, Braunohler would join the ranks of Jon Stewart and Chris Hardwick on Comedy Central’s late night schedule with Getting’ Some Strange with Kurt Braunohler. Planned as a nightly talk show, the pilot will see the comedian discussing the weirdest news bits of that given day and, according to Deadline, “revealing just how beautifully insane our world actually is.” That’s a phrase I can get behind. And while it doesn’t say whether or not Braunohler would be joined by comedian or celebrity guests, it seems likely that Comedy Central would go that route to further promote the brand.
This isn’t Braunohler’s first rodeo when it comes to being a host. He currently leads The K Ohle with Kurt Braunohler, a Nerdist podcast with a revolving door of formats and guests, and he’s the former host of the IFC faux game show Bunk. Premiering in 2012 with Scott Aukerman’s Comedy Bang Bang, Bunk’s odd approach didn’t attract a big enough audience to get renewed for a second season, but the plus side is that the comedy makes it one of the only game shows worth watching twice. The same almost goes for Hardwick’s @Midnight, which Braunohler has been a guest on multiple times. Check one of those appearances out below.
Braunohler, a frequent collaborator of Bob’s Burgers actress Kristen Schaal, has a Comedy Central web series coming later this year called Roustabout with Kurt Braunohler. The first six-episode season, called American Jet Ski, is centered on the New Jersey native’s seven-city jet skiing trek down the Mississippi River from Chicago to New Orleans. With guest stars like Schaal, Kyle Kinane and Jon Daly, the mini-tour raised money for Heifer International to send hundreds of animals to African families in need.
You can also catch Braunohler performing on a recent repeat of The Half Hour on Comedy Central. For a better idea of how his stand-up works, give a listen to his segment from the network’s upcoming web-to-TV series This is Not Happening.
Though they’re losing Stephen Colbert to CBS’ The Late Late Show at the end of the year, Comedy Central has already filled that time slot with Larry Wilmore’s topical series Minority Report. Should they decide to order Gettin’ Some Strange to series, there’s no reason why they can’t then create shows specifically devoted to religious news and food news. Then they can bring Norm Macdonald’s Sports Show back and eventually splinter off into the 24-hour Comedy News Network, and the world will finally make sense.
