Peacock is getting into the live comedy business, the streamer announced on Tuesday, as Colin Jost & Michael Che Present: New York After Dark, a live special hosted by the Saturday Night Live duo, is set to premiere on the service on Thursday, September 12 at 6 p.m. PT / 9 p.m. ET.
Peacock here takes a page from the playbook of Netflix, which broke ground when it ventured into live comedy with Chris Rock: Selective Outrage, the much-discussed 2023 special in which Rock addressed being slapped by Will Smith at the 94th Academy Awards. Whether New York After Dark is a one-off for Peacock, or reflective of a new, ongoing line of business for the streamer, isn’t yet clear.
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Taped in front of an in-person audience at The Bell House in Brooklyn, Jost and Che’s hour-long special will be a night of “drop-ins only,” featuring their favorite New York City club comics — a number of fresh faces, and maybe even some names you already know and love. Grammy-nominated musical ensemble 1500 or Nothin’ will accompany performances as the house band. Watch a trailer for the special above.
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Marking the inaugural production for both Che’s 7F Project and Jost’s No Notes Productions, New York After Dark will be directed by Michael Mancini. Exec producers include Jost, Jeff Grosvenor and Emily Hason for No Notes; Che and Rachael Edwards for 7F Project; and Rikki Hughes of Magic Lemonade, who serves as showrunner. Universal Television Alternative Studio, a division of Universal Studio Group, is the studio.
Co-anchoring the Weekend Update segment of Saturday Night Live since September 2014, Jost and Che a couple of years ago established themselves as its longest-running hosts. The pair were among the venerable late-night sketch series’ lead writers for five seasons and continue to serve as part of the writing staff.
While Jost has never released a special, Che’s past efforts in this area include Michael Che Matters (2016) and Michael Che: Shame the Devil (2021) for Netflix, along with a set for Comedy Central’s The Half Hour. Jost is represented by CAA and Yorn, Levine, Barnes; Che by WME, Entertainment 360, and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller.