TBS Orders Unscripted Comedies From Ashton Kutcher, 'Conan's' Deon Cole

Ashton Kutcher

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The Turner-owned cable network, just hours after picking up Cougar Town from ABC, has greenlit a pair of unscripted series with strong pedigrees.

Who Gets the Last Laugh? (working title) hails from Punk'd  duo Ashton Kutcher and Jason Goldberg and pits two comedians against one another as they vie to create the most outrageous pranks possible and unleash them on the general public. A live audience will determine the winner of the Katalyst and Warner Horizon-produced series. Goldberg will serve as showrunner, with Kutcher on board as an EP for the nine-episode series set to debut next year.

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For its part, Deon Cole's Black Box features the Emmy-nominated writer-comedian (Conan) offering his unique views on viral videos. TBS has ordered six episodes of the series, which is set to debut next year. Conaco's Conan O'Brien, Jeff Ross and David Kissinger will exec produce alongside Cole and Doug Karo. Warner Horizon Television will produce.

"Deon Cole's Black Box and Who Gets the Last Laugh? come to us from some of today's brightest comedic voices, affirming the power of the TBS brand to comedy lovers," TBS, Turner, TNT and TCM president and head of programming Michael Wright said in a statement announcing the news Thursday. "These shows are not only extremely funny but also irreverent, provocative and a little bit subversive, making them ideal for fans of TBS' Conan, The Big Bang Theory and Family Guy."


The pair of unscripted comedies join Cougar Town and upcoming freshman scripted comedies Men at Work, Sullivan & Son and Wedding Band at the network, which is currently building its comedy roster behind syndicated broadcasts of CBS' The Big Bang Theory.

The pickups follow unscripted nerd reality competition series King of the Nerds, TBS' first unscripted competition series in four years.

Email: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com; Twitter: @Snoodit