''Premium Blend'' was a

stand-up comedy Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage (theatre), stage and delivers humour, humorous and satire, satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical comedy, physical acts. These ...

series created and directed by Paul Miller that aired on the American

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

channel

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...

from 1997 to 2005. In 2005 the show was changed, and now known as "

Live at Gotham ''Live at Gotham'' is an American stand-up comedy television show airing on Comedy Central. The show features up and coming stand-up comedians performing live at the Gotham Comedy Club in New York City New York, often called New York Cit ...

". The show was born out of Comedy Central's attempts to find new comedy stars. These "attempts" were $1,000 to $10,000 productions that allowed unnoticed comedians to share their material. Premium Blend acted as a showcase where most of the material and bits were shown.

Overview

Every year since its premiere in 1997, the program featured a well-known stand up

comedian A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertainment, entertain an audience by making them laughter, laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop c ...

as an emcee who introduced four or five lesser known comedians looking for a big break on television. The host and guests would change every year. Each comedian presented a short set of jokes, which was edited to last about five minutes on the airing of the show. Many alumni have gone on to have their own ''

Comedy Central Presents ''Comedy Central Presents'' is an American stand-up comedy television series created for Comedy Central. It is the network's main half-hour program which highlights either one or a series of stand-up comedians each episode. In 2011, the series ...

'' specials or further acclaim, including

Mitch Hedberg Mitchell Lee Hedberg (February 24, 1968 – March 23, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian known for his surreal humor and deadpan delivery. His comedy typically featured short, sometimes one-line jokes mixed with absurd elements and non s ...

, Stephen Lynch,

Demetri Martin Demetri Martin (, ''Dimitrios Evangelos Martin''; born May 25, 1973) is an American comedian, actor, writer, director, cartoonist and musician. He was a contributor on ''The Daily Show''. In stand-up, he is known for his deadpan delivery, playing ...

Dane Cook Dane Jeffrey Cook (born March 18, 1972) is an American stand-up comedian and film actor. He is known for his use of observational comedy, observational, often blue comedy, vulgar, and sometimes black comedy, dark comedy. He released six comedy ...

, B. J. Novak, Anthony Jeselnik, Paul F. Tompkins,

Darrell Hammond Darrell Clayton Hammond (born October 8, 1955) is an American actor, comedian, impressionist, and announcer. He was a regular cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1995 to 2009, and has been its announcer sinc ...

Mike Birbiglia Mike Birbiglia (; born June 20, 1978) is an American comedian, actor, director, producer and Emmy-nominated writer. He has written and performed a series of award-winning solo shows worldwide. His six solo shows, ''Sleepwalk With Me'', ''My Gi ...

, Greer Barnes, Wayne Federman,

Daniel Tosh Daniel Dwight Tosh (born May 29, 1975) is an American comedian, writer, and producer. After graduating from the University of Central Florida with a degree in marketing, Tosh moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in comedy. His career accelera ...

Gabriel Iglesias Gabriel Jesús Iglesias (born July 15, 1976) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He has produced a number of stand-up specials for television outlets such as Comedy Central and Netflix, including ''I'm Not Fat… I'm Fluffy'', and ''Ho ...

Pete Holmes Peter Benedict Holmes (born March 30, 1979) is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and podcaster. Holmes gained recognition in the early 2010s as a stand-up comic, during which he launched his podcast ''You Made It Weird'' (2011–p ...

, and

Ron White Ronald Dee White (born December 18, 1956) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and author, best known as a charter member of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour. Nicknamed "Tater Salad", he is the author of the book ''I Had the Right to Remain Sil ...

Hosts

Each year the show would get a new comedian to serve as host for each of the season's ten episodes. The hosts were: *

Kathy Griffin Kathleen Mary Griffin (born November 4, 1960) is an American comedian and actress who has starred in television series, comedy specials and has released multiple comedy albums. In 2007 and 2008, Griffin won Primetime Emmy Awards for her rea ...

(1997) *

Jim Breuer James Breuer (born June 21, 1967) is an American stand-up comedian, and actor. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1995 to 1998 and starred in the film ''Half Baked'' (1998). Career Breuer was a member of the cast of ''Saturda ...

(1998) *

Tommy Davidson Tommy Davidson (born Anthony Reed, November 10, 1963) is an American actor and comedian. He was an original cast member on the sketch comedy TV show ''In Living Color'', and portrayed Mitchell on '' Between Brothers'' (1997–1999), Dexter on '' ...

(1999) *

Harland Williams Harland Reesor Williams (born November 14, 1962) is a Canadian and American comedian and actor. After several years of performing stand-up comedy in Toronto and Los Angeles, he made his film debut in '' Dumb and Dumber'' (1994) before playing st ...

(2000) *

David Alan Grier David Alan Grier (born June 30, 1956) is an American actor and comedian. Known for his roles on stage and screen, Grier gained popularity playing multiple roles in the American sketch comedy television series '' In Living Color'' (1990–1994) ...

(2001) *

Wanda Sykes Wanda Yvette Sykes (born March 7, 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, and writer. She was first recognized for her work as a writer on ''The Chris Rock Show'', for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award in 1999. In 2004, ''Entertainme ...

(2002) *

D.L. Hughley Darryl Lynn Hughley (; born March 6, 1963) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. Hughley is best known as the original host of BET's '' ComicView'' from 1992 to 1993, the eponymous character on the ABC/ UPN sitcom '' The Hughleys'', and ...

(2003) *

Jamie Kennedy James Harvey Kennedy (born May 25, 1970) is an American actor and comedian. In film, Kennedy played Randy Meeks in the ''Scream'' film series (1996–2000), which saw him as a supporting character in the first and third installments and a le ...

(2004) *

Damon Wayans Damon Kyle Wayans Sr. (; born September 4, 1960) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, producer, and writer. A member of the Wayans family of entertainers, Damon performed as a comedian and actor throughout the 1980s, including a brief stint ...

(2005)

References

External links

* {{Comedy Central programming Comedy Central original programming 1990s American stand-up comedy television series 2000s American stand-up comedy television series 1997 American television series debuts 2005 American television series endings American English-language television shows

Overview

Hosts

See also

References

External links