''Comedy Now!'' is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

comedy television series which debuted in 1997 and ended in 2014 featuring the newest in Canadian comedic talent. The show has won numerous

Gemini Awards The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in the United States a ...

as well as many international awards. It is broadcast in Canada on

The Comedy Network CTV Comedy Channel (often shortened to CTV Comedy and formerly known as The Comedy Network) is a Canadian English-language specialty channel owned by Bell Media which focuses primarily on comedy programming. The channel first launched on Octo ...

and CTV. In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, the program airs on

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming ...

. The show has started the careers of notable Canadian

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...

s, including

Brent Butt Brent Leroy Butt (born August 3, 1966) is a Canadian actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is best known for his role as Brent Leroy on the CTV Television Network, CTV sitcom ''Corner Gas'', which he created. He also created the television serie ...

Gavin Crawford Gavin Crawford (born 2 April 1971) is a Canadian comedian and actor, best known for ''The Gavin Crawford Show'' and ''This Hour Has 22 Minutes''. He currently hosts the panel show, '' Because News'', on CBC Radio One. Early life Crawford was b ...

Shaun Majumder Shaun Vincent Majumder (born January 29, 1972) is a Canadian actor and comedian. He is best known for his role on ''This Hour Has 22 Minutes,'' where he worked from 2003 until 2018. He won a Gemini Award for his work on the series in 2006. Early ...

Russell Peters Russell Dominic Peters (born September 29, 1970) is a Canadian stand-up comedian, actor, and producer. He began performing in Toronto in 1989 and won a Gemini Award in 2008. In 2013, he was number three on ''Forbes'' list of the world's highe ...

Pete Zedlacher Pete Zedlacher is a Canadian stand-up comedian, actor and television writer. Originally from Wawa, Ontario, he has appeared at Just for Laughs and the Halifax Comedy Festival, and won the 2006 Canadian Comedy Award for Best Male Stand-Up. He has ...

and

Harland Williams Harland Michael Williams (born November 14, 1962) is a Canadian actor, comedian and writer. After several years of stand-up in Toronto and Los Angeles he made his film debut in ''Dumb and Dumber'' (1994) before playing starring roles in the short ...

and has showcased comedians such as

Trent McClellan Trent McClellan (born 1972) is a Canadian stand-up comedian."Born t ...

Darcy Michael Darcy Michael is a Canadian actor and stand-up comedian, best known for his stand up comedy, his viral tiktok accoun@thedarcymichaeland his role in the Canadian television sitcom ''Spun Out''.Graham Chittenden Graham Chittenden is a Canadian standup comedian and television writer from Brantford, Ontario, most noted for his work as part of the writing team for the television series '' Still Standing''. Alongside Jonny Harris, Steve Dylan and Fraser Young, ...

and

Eric Tunney Eric Tunney (September 9, 1964 – March 28, 2010) was a Canadian writer, comedian and television host from Windsor, Ontario who hosted several television shows produced in both Canada and the U.S. and was a regular on the North American live com ...

. Most episodes of the series featured a single comedian performing a stand-up set, although a few highlighted

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and is ...

troupes and a number of "gala" episodes featuring several comedians were also aired as specials. These included ''Women of the Night'', a "women in comedy" special which aired in 2001 with Brigitte Gall,

Aurora Browne Aurora Browne is a Canadian actress and comedian, best known as one of the creators and stars of the sketch comedy series ''Baroness von Sketch Show''. Early life She is originally from Thunder Bay, Ontario, and currently based in Toronto. Care ...

, Jen Goodhue,

Sabrina Jalees Sabrina Jalees (born April 19, 1985) is a Canadian comedian, actress, and writer. She has written for various series, and starred as a main cast member alongside Patricia Heaton in the 2019 TV comedy series ''Carol's Second Act.'' Early life and ...

, Diana Love and Renee Percy. This episode garnered a

Gemini Award The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in the United States ...

nomination for Best Comedy Program at the

17th Gemini Awards The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television's 17th Gemini Awards were held on November 4, 2002, to honour achievements in Canadian television. The awards show, which was hosted by Seán Cullen, took place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre an ...

in 2002.

Performers

Solo performers

Sketch troupes and specials

The Bobroom The Bobroom was a Canadian sketch comedy troupe, active in the late 1990s and early 2000s.Jim Bawden, "Bobbing for laughs in all the right places ; Toronto troupe's show lampoons Canadian culture". ''Toronto Star'', February 27, 2000. The troupe con ...

* Bowser & Blue *The Doo-Wops:

John Catucci John Catucci ( , ; born July 11, 1973) is a Canadian sketch comedian, singer,John Catucci
at Diamon ...

, David Mesiano *Not Getting It: Adrian Churchill,

Terry McGurrin Terry McGurrin (born November 5, 1968) is a Canadian voice actor, comedian, and writer from Ottawa, Ontario. He was the story editor for the 2011 YTV show ''Scaredy Squirrel''. He has most recently been story editing and executive producer for th ...

, Anne Marie Scheffler * Not to Be Repeated: Ed Sahely,

Kathy Greenwood Kathryn Greenwood (born March 21, 1962) is a Canadian actress and comedian. She appeared on the American version of ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' numerous times, and played Grace Bailey on the Canadian television drama series ''Wind at My Back ...

, Jonathan Wilson *Skippy's Rangers:

Jonathan Crombie Jonathan Crombie (October 12, 1966 – April 15, 2015) was a Canadian actor and voice over artist, best known for playing Gilbert Blythe in CBC Television's 1985 telefilm '' Anne of Green Gables'' and its two sequels. Early life Crombie was ...

Lisa Lambert Lisa Lambert (born December 1962 in Washington D.C.) is an actress, comedy writer, and Tony Award-winning composer, best known for writing the music and lyrics to ''The Drowsy Chaperone''. Career Lambert played in the movies ''Childstar'' and ''S ...

, Bob Martin, Paul O'Sullivan *''Women of the Night'': Brigitte Gall,

, Jen Goodhue,

, Diana Love, Renee Percy *''Women of the Night, Pt. 2'': Aurora Browne, Renee Percy

Awards

Several comedians who appeared on the series received

nominations or wins for Best Performance in a Comedy Series, Individual or Ensemble (1997-1999) or Individual Performance in a Comedy Series (2000-2010): * John Rogers —

12th Gemini Awards The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television's 12th Gemini Awards were held on March 1, 1998, to honour achievements in Canadian television. There were two awards ceremonies in 1998; the 13th was held on October 4, 1998. The 12th awards ceremony w ...

(Spring 1998) *

—

13th Gemini Awards The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television's 13th Gemini Awards were held on October 4, 1998, to honour achievements in Canadian television. (This year's awards were split into two segments; the first 1998 ceremony was held on March 1 and was na ...

(Fall 1998) *

—

14th Gemini Awards The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television's 14th Gemini Awards were held on November 7, 1999, to honour achievements in Canadian television. The awards show, which was hosted by Rick Mercer, took place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and ...

(1999) *

—

15th Gemini Awards The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television's 15th Gemini Awards were held on October 30, 2000, to honour achievements in Canadian television. The awards show, which was hosted by Steve Smith, took place at the John Bassett Theatre and was broadc ...

(2000)"Gemini Nominations". ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'', October 29, 2000. *

—

(2000) * Jason Rouse —

16th Gemini Awards The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television's 16th Gemini Awards were held on October 29, 2001, to honour achievements in Canadian television. The awards show, which was hosted by Mike Bullard, took place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre a ...

(2001) *

Glen Foster Glen Seward Foster II (August 14, 1930 – October 1, 1999) was an American sailor. He won a bronze medal in the '' Tempest class'' with Peter Dean at the 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of th ...

— 16th Gemini Awards (2001)"CTV's Nuremberg leads Gemini nominations". ''

The Telegram ''The Telegram'' is a daily newspaper published weekdays and Saturdays (as ''The Weekend Telegram'') in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. History ''The Evening Telegram'' was first published on April 3, 1879 by William James Herde ...

'', September 18, 2001. *

Jessica Holmes Jessica Holmes (born August 29, 1973) is a Canadians, Canadian comedian and actress. She is best known for her work with the ''Royal Canadian Air Farce'', which she joined in 2003, after starring in her own show, ''The Holmes Show'' in 2002. Sh ...

— 16th Gemini Awards (2001) *

Nikki Payne Nikki Payne (also credited as Nikkie Payne), is a Canadian comedian and actress, from Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia, Canada. Born with a cleft palate, she is well known for incorporating her lisp into her comedy act. She has won three Canadian Co ...

—

18th Gemini Awards The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television's 18th Gemini Awards were held on October 20, 2003, to honour achievements in Canadian television. The awards show, which was hosted by Seán Cullen, took place at the John Bassett Theatre and was bro ...

(2003) *

—

19th Gemini Awards The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television's 19th Gemini Awards were held on December 13, 2004, to honour achievements in Canadian television. The awards show, which was co-hosted by several celebrities, took place at the John Bassett Theatre an ...

(2004) * Levi MacDougall —

20th Gemini Awards The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television's 20th Gemini Awards were held on November 19, 2005, to honour achievements in Canadian television. The awards show, which was co-hosted by several celebrities, took place at the John Bassett Theatre an ...

(2005) *

—

24th Gemini Awards The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television's 24th Gemini Awards were held on November 14, 2009, to honour achievements in Canadian television. The awards show, which was hosted by Ron James, took place at the Stampede Corral in Calgary and was ...

(2009)"Gemini nominees". ''

'', August 26, 2009. Greg Malone's special, ''Pocket Queen'', won an award at the 1999

WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival The WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival, founded in 1968, is an annual film festival held annually in April in Houston, Texas. Notable festival alumni include John Lee Hancock, who wrote and directed the Oscar-winning film '' The Blind S ...

Wyndham Wise Wyndham Paul Wise is a Canadian film historian, critic, editor and publisher. He was the founder and editor-in-chief of the film magazine '' Take One: Film & Television in Canada'' (1992-2006). Career Born in London, England, Wyndham Wise was rais ...

"Greg Malone"
''

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available fo ...

'', November 21, 2012.

References

External links

* *
Comedy Now!
' at

CTV Television Network The CTV Television Network, commonly known as CTV, is a Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. Launched in 1961 and acquired by BCE Inc. in 2000, CTV is Canada's largest privately owned television network and is now a divis ...

* * {{TheTVDB , id=79623 , title=Comedy Now! CTV Television Network original programming CTV 2 original programming Canadian Screen Award-winning television shows 1997 Canadian television series debuts CTV Comedy Channel original programming 1990s Canadian comedy television series Television series by Bell Media Canadian stand-up comedy television series