Mike Binder To Direct Four-Part Project That Includes Vintage Footage
Plus Interviews With Judd Apatow, David Spade, Martin Lawrence, Bob Saget And More

 Photo: Getty Images

LOS ANGELES – April 22, 2019 – Showtime Documentary Films today announced a four-part documentary series that will chronicle the history of the iconic L.A. club The Comedy Store, directed and executive produced by Mike Binder (Black or White) and executive produced by Oscar^® nominee and Emmy^® winner Mike Tollin (THE FRANCHISE). The project is expected to premiere on SHOWTIME in 2020.

This documentary series brings to life the legends, heartbreak and history created at The Comedy Store, which over the past 47 years has launched the careers of a breathtaking array of stars. As a Comedy Store alum, former stand-up comic Binder spotlights one of pop culture’s great laboratories with never-before-seen footage and incisive, emotional interviews with some of the biggest names in comedy. Among the comedians who got their start or developed at the Comedy Store are David Letterman, Jay Leno, Richard Pryor, Paul Mooney, Robin Williams, Jim Carrey, Tom Dreesen, Sam Kinison, Paul Rodriguez, Sarah Silverman, Chris Rock, Bill Burr, Dave Chappelle, Marc Maron, Whitney Cummings, Iliza Shlesinger, David Spade, Sebastian Maniscalco, Annie Lederman, Jeff Ross, Theo Von, Bobby Lee, Bob Saget, Howie Mandel, Joe Rogan, Chris D'Elia, Jimmie Walker and many more. 

"The Comedy Store is a magical place – it's Juilliard for stand-up comics, the Bolshoi Ballet of comedy,” said Binder. “It’s an honor for me to be able to return home to my roots, and I am so grateful to be able to tell this remarkable story."

Binder wrote and directed the films Black or White, The Upside of Anger and Reign Over Me, and created and starred in the series The Mind of the Married Man. For SHOWTIME, he has executive produced and written on RAY DONOVAN, as well as directed BILLIONS.

Tollin has produced numerous film and TV projects including THE FRANCHISE for SHOWTIME, Varsity Blues, Coach Carter, Radio, Arli$$, Smallville, One Tree Hill, All That, Kenan & Kel. In addition, Tollin earned Oscar and Emmy nominations for the documentary Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream, and was one of the original producers of the acclaimed 30 For 30 documentary series.

Tollin will executive produce alongside Jon Weinbach. Peter Shore and Paul Young will also serve as executive producers. Adam Eget, creative director of The Comedy Store, will produce. Jonathan Vogler will produce for Mandalay Sports Media.

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME^®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL^™ and FLIX^®, and also offers SHOWTIME ON DEMAND^®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL^™ ON DEMAND and FLIX ON DEMAND^®, and the network's authentication service SHOWTIME ANYTIME^®. Showtime Digital Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of SNI, operates the stand-alone streaming service SHOWTIME^®. SHOWTIME is currently available to subscribers via cable, DBS, and telco providers, and as a stand-alone streaming service through Amazon, Apple^®, Google, LG Smart TVs, Oculus Go, Roku^®, Samsung Smart TVs and Xbox One. Consumers can also subscribe to SHOWTIME via Amazon’s Prime Video Channels, DirecTV Now, FuboTV, Hulu, The Roku Channel, Sling TV, Sony PlayStation^™ Vue, and YouTube TV. Viewers can also watch on computers at Showtime.com. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks^™, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution, which offers Smithsonian Channel^™ and Smithsonian Channel Plus™. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV. For more information, go to www.SHO.com.

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