"Funny or Die's Billy on the Street" to Premiere December 22nd at 11pm ET on Fuse
Unique Music and Pop Culture Themed Game Show
Hosted by Comedian Billy Eichner
New York, NY, October 25, 2011 - Fuse, the national music television network of The Madison Square Garden Company, announced today that Funny Or Die's half-hour series "Funny or Die's Billy On The Street," starring comedian Billy Eichner, is set to premiere on December 22nd at 11pm ET. Every Thursday evening, Billy hits the streets of New York City to test unsuspecting pedestrians on their knowledge of music and pop culture in a fast-paced and funny trivia style game show. From Lil' Wayne to Meryl Streep, Billy covers all the bases with a hilarious urgency and an almost terrifying amount of passion.
Part game show, part comedy, the show incorporates several different rounds, as well as a fun twist where the final round is subjective, and contestants must agree with Billy's opinions on pop culture in order to win. How far contestants advance in the game correlates to the amount of money and prizes they take home.
Mike Farah, Funny Or Die's President of Production, Billy Eichner and Krysia Plonka are executive producers.
Known for his hilarious viral videos, Eichner has also written and starred in his own critically acclaimed stage shows "Creation Nation" and "Billy Eichner Goes Pop!" and has appeared on Bravo, VH1, E!, and others, bringing his unique brand of wit and humor to audiences.
"We couldn't be more excited to bring Billy Eichner's unique personality to Fuse in this hilarious music game show from the streets of New York," said Brad Schwartz, senior vice president of programming and operations, Fuse. "Contestants might think they know pop culture, but they have no idea what's in store. Look out pedestrians; I'm a little nervous for you."
Eichner, a regular performer at New York's improv and sketch comedy theater, the Upright Citizens Brigade, initially created his "man on the street" videos as part of his live shows. The videos featured Eichner surprising people on the streets of New York, asking their opinions on politics and pop culture. The videos became viral hits in 2010, and were featured on Huffington Post, Gawker, Entertainment Weekly, VH1, Jezebel, New York Magazine, and Funny Or Die, among others.
"I'm incredibly excited to be hosting this most unusual game show for Fuse and Funny Or Die," says Eichner. "I've never hosted a TV show before so I feel very fortunate and I'm excited to walk down a path paved for me by such talents as Pat Sajak and Brooke Burke."
"Funny Or Die's Billy On The Street" marks Funny Or Die's third series commitment in a growing slate of off-net production, which includes the HBO series "Funny Or Die Presents" and Comedy Central's "Jon Benjamin Has a Van." In addition, Funny Or Die's first feature film, "Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie" is slated for a 2012 release.
Fuse is a national television network that provides a unique, multi-platform music destination, centered on the development of creative music programming driven by meaningful relationships within the music industry and the interaction of artists and fans. Eichner's new show is the latest addition to Fuse's expanding music programming lineup, which includes original series such as "Hoppus On Music" with Mark Hoppus from blink-182, "CeeLo Green * Talking to Strangers," "Top 20 Countdown," "Hip Hop Shop," "On the Record with Fuse," and the live concert series "Fuse Presents."
Follow Billy on Twitter @billyeichner
Follow Fuse on Twitter @fusetv
About Billy Eichner
Eichner is a comedian, actor, writer, and host known for his popular viral videos, such as "Billy on the Street", "Forest Hills State of Mind" with Rachel Dratch, and "The Charlie Sheen is Too Damn High Party" with Jimmy "The Rent is Too Damn High" McMillan for Funny or Die. He first gained attention as the host and writer of "Creation Nation: A Live Talk Show," a wildly popular, critically acclaimed stage show in New York called a "late night theatrical phenomenon" by The New York Times. His television credits include the recently picked up BBC America chat show "Would You Rather? with Graham Norton," "Fashion Police" on E!, "The Bravo A-List Awards" on Bravo, "Joan Rivers' Straight Talk" (a talk show pilot for Bravo he co-hosted with Joan Rivers and Andy Cohen), and "Best Week Ever" on VH1. He is currently writing a new stage show to be directed by Jason Moore, the Tony nominated director of "Avenue Q." He is a native New Yorker, and a graduate of Stuyvesant High School and Northwestern University.
About Fuse
Fuse, the national television network dedicated exclusively to music, brings viewers closer to their favorite artists and bands by featuring original series and specials, exclusive interviews, live concerts and video blocks - all rooted in the music experience. Celebrating the hit makers of today, familiar favorites and edgy newcomers, Fuse accommodates the wide ranging tastes and attitudes of its 18-34 year-old audience with compelling music programming on-air, on-line, on-demand, in HD and via mobile technologies. Fuse is a part of MSG Media, which includes television networks MSG, MSG Plus, MSG HD and MSG Plus HD, as well as MSG Interactive, which oversees all company wireless and online initiatives. MSG Media is a division of The Madison Square Garden Company (NASDAQ:MSG), along with MSG Sports and MSG Entertainment. MSG Sports includes the New York Knicks (NBA); the New York Rangers (NHL); the New York Liberty (WNBA); the Connecticut Whale (American Hockey League); and MSG Entertainment includes concerts and events at Radio City Music Hall, Madison Square Garden, the Theater at Madison Square Garden, the Wang Theatre in Boston, the Beacon Theatre, as well as the legendary Chicago Theatre, and which manages wholly-owned live entertainment properties including the Radio City Rockettes and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. Additional information about Fuse can be found at www.fuse.tv .
About Funny Or Die
Funny Or Die launched in April 2007 and has quickly become the top destination for comedy on the web. At the 2011 Webby Awards Funny Or Die won nine awards, including Best Humor Site. The site has over 12 million unique users per month, over 60 million video views per month, and has grown into a vertically integrated 21st century digital studio that produces high quality content over numerous platforms, operating a social media and marketing division with over 2.5 million Twitter followers, approximately 3.4 million Facebook fans, and devoted followers on numerous social networking and sharing sites. Funny Or Die has become the "place to be seen" for comedic celebrities, and the obvious destination for a daily comedy fix. Funny Or Die's founders are Gary Sanchez Productions (Will Ferrell, Adam McKay and Chris Henchy), Sequoia and CAA. Judd Apatow is also a principal partner in Funny Or Die.
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