Peacock is now trying its hand at live comedy.
The streamer announced Colin Jost & Michael Che Present: New York After Dark, which will have the Saturday Night Live weekend update duo hosting at The Bell House in Brooklyn. It will stream Sept. 12 at 9 p.m. ET, and feature a rotation of the pair’s favorite New York City club comics along with fresh faces and likely some familiar ones as well. Grammy-nominated musical ensemble 1500 or Nothin’ is set to be the house band accompanying comics throughout the hour.
The announcement arrives as the market for stand-up specials is red hot. In fact, as platforms like Amazon and Hulu open their wallets, it has proved a bright spot in an otherwise bleak entertainment landscape. And while Peacock isn’t frequently involved in the increasingly common bidding wars, which have ratcheted up to eight figures for top comics, the platform has maintained a toehold with specials including Kevin Hart’s last hour. Netflix, which remains the behemoth in the space, moved into the live comedy business with Chris Rock and, more recently, Joe Rogan.
For NBCUniversal, the new Jost and Che hour doubles as a promotion of the 50th season of Saturday Night Live, which premieres later in the month. The special also marks the inaugural production for both Che’s 7F Project and Jost’s No Notes Productions. Jost, Jeff Grosvenor and Emily Hason of No Notes Productions and Che and Rachael Edwards of 7F Project will executive produce alongside Rikki Hughes of Magic Lemonade. Universal Television Alternative Studio, a division of Universal Studio Group, serves as the studio. SNL’s Michael Mancini is set to direct the hour.
