Lewis Black Rules, Puts Pop Culture on Trial as Comedy Central Greenlights 'The Root of All Evil'

Series To Premiere In March 2008

NEW YORK, Oct. 4 -- Paris Hilton vs. Dick Cheney? YouTube vs. Porn? Michael Vick vs. Michael Richards? COMEDY CENTRAL(R) has picked up "The Root of All Evil," a new series in which Lewis Black puts pop culture on trial and presides over the comedic proceedings, it was announced today by Lauren Corrao, executive vice president, original programming and development, COMEDY CENTRAL. The series will premiere in March 2008.

Moderated by Lewis Black, "The Root of All Evil" pits two people such as Paris Hilton and Dick Cheney or pop culture topics such as You Tube vs. Porn against each other in an open debate setting. A rotating group of comedians will take the stage and argue who or what is most evil with Black making the final decision between the two.

"Who better to serve as the great decider for all that is evil than Lewis Black? We are thrilled to be working with him on a new series that embraces his insight and personality. He has been a mainstay on COMEDY CENTRAL for years with his hosting gigs, numerous stand-up specials and his trademark 'Back in Black' segments on 'The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,'" said Corrao.

"I am thrilled to become a part of popular culture by being the self- proclaimed decider of what is evil in our popular culture and by the end of the show's run I will no doubt have to judge myself," said Black.

Lewis Black is one of the most prolific and popular performers working today. He executes a brilliant trifecta as stand-up comedian, actor and author. Black's live performances provide a cathartic release of anger and disillusionment for his audience. A passionate performer who is more pissed- off optimist than mean-spirited curmudgeon, he's perfected expressing what the rest of us can not say in polite company. Receiving critical acclaim, he performs over 200 nights a year to sell out audiences throughout Europe, New Zealand, Canada and The United States. He is one of few performers to sell out multiple, renowned theatres including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Brooks Atkinson Theatre, New York City Center and the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. In August 2007, he was the first stand-up comedian to perform in concert at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.

In 2006, Black had a break out year as an actor. He co-starred with Robin Williams in Barry Levinson's "Man of the Year" (Universal Pictures), appeared as "the fake dean of a fake college" in Steve Pink's "Accepted" (Universal Pictures) and as the harried airport manager in Paul Feig's "Unaccompanied Minors" (Warner Brothers). In addition, he lent his voice to the role of "Jimmy" in Bob Sagat's parody, "Farce of the Penguins" (Thinkfilm).

In the midst of a rigorous touring schedule and several TV appearances, Black's first book, Nothing's Sacred (Simon and Schuster, 2005) debuted on The New York Times Best Seller List. He's currently working on a second release (Riverhead Books) expected in 2008.

Lewis Black, Scott Carter and David Sacks and are the executive producers with Jo Anne Astrow and Mark Lonow as the co-executive producers. Zoe Friedman and Scott Landsman will serve as the executives in charge of production for COMEDY CENTRAL.

Black is represented by APA. His attorneys are Jon Moonves and Loan Dang.

COMEDY CENTRAL, the only all-comedy network, currently is seen in more than 91 million homes nationwide. COMEDY CENTRAL is owned by, and is a registered trademark of, Comedy Partners, a wholly-owned division of VIACOM Inc.'s (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B) MTV Networks. COMEDY CENTRAL's Internet address is http://www.comedycentral.com.

MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. MTV Networks, with 142 channels worldwide, owns and operates the following television programming services - MTV: MUSIC TELEVISION, MTV2, VH1, mtvU, NICKELODEON, NICK at NITE, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV LAND, SPIKE TV, CMT, NOGGIN/THE N, VH1 CLASSIC, LOGO, MTVN INTERNATIONAL and THE DIGITAL SUITE FROM MTV NETWORKS, a package of 13 digital services, all of these networks trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks connects with its audiences through its robust consumer products businesses and its more than 200 interactive properties worldwide, including online, broadband, wireless and interactive television services and also has licensing agreements, joint ventures, and syndication deals whereby all of its programming services can be seen worldwide.

Source: Viacom

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