The History Of Comedy first aired on CNN

Sky Arts is to air an eight-part documentary series charting the evolution of American comedy.

The History of Comedy originally aired on the CNN news channel in the States in February.

Each episode tackles a different theme, with the first devoted to ribaldry and raunchiness and featuring the familiar names of Lenny Bruce, George Carlin, Richard Pryor. 

Others look at women in comedy, political humour and the psychology of the tormented comics such as  Robin Williams and explores the ‘tears of a clown’  image.

When The History of Comedy launched, the New York Times praised its ‘wealth of vintage clips’– which it combines with contemporary interviews with comedy legends such as Patton Oswalt, Carol Burnett and Larry David ‘to find out how comedians’ minds work’.

Sky Arts has acquired the series from distributor Cineflix Rights for airing at a later date.

Cineflix chief executive Chris Bonney said: ‘Featuring candid interviews with some of the genre’s biggest stars, The History of Comedy leaves viewers in stitches. 

‘This one-of-a-kind series is already proving popular with our buyers in the international marketplace. It’s exactly the type of high-quality, stand-out programming that we’ll be looking to acquire more of.’

Published: 6 Jun 2017