Jim Jefferies to host late-night series on Comedy Central


Jim Jefferies Comedy Central

Photo courtesy of Comedy Central

Comedy Central just announced a new late night series to be hosted by comic and actor Jim Jefferies. The half-hour series has been given the go-ahead for a 10-episode season to debut this summer.

The new weekly show will see Jefferies traveling the globe as he discusses the latest news, with an emphasis on culture and politics. Needless to say, President Donald Trump will be routinely on-topic because, as the network puts it, “there’s no way he can avoid it.”

Jefferies has been highly active in recent years, creating, writing, producing and starring in two seasons of the FX series Legit, while also releasing a pair of stand-up specials — Bare (2014) and Freedumb (2016) — via the on-demand streaming service Netflix. The announcement of the Australian comic’s forthcoming late-night series comes on the heels of his massive international “The Unusual Punishment Tour.” “It’s always been a dream of mine to do a show in this arena,” Jefferies said in a statement, “and I can’t wait for everyone to see what we’ve got planned.”

While Comedy Central has not yet revealed details regarding the late-show’s title or the day and weekly airing schedule, the network has released a list of those who will be working on the series. It will be exec produced by Jefferies along with Scott Zabielski and Brillstein Entertainment Partners’ Alex Murray and Tim Sarkes. Jason Reich (The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee) has also been tapped as co-executive producer and head writer.

2016 saw Jefferies make appearances on Comedy Central’s @midnight with Chris Hardwick and The Goddamn Comedy Jam. More recently, he could be seen laying into Piers Morgan on HBO’s Real Time With Bill Maher.