Just For Laughs Montreal plans to return next month with a hybrid of online and in-person programming in various cities.
Organizers say the comedy festival will run July 26 to July 31 with some live stand-up shows and other programming taking place in Montreal, New York and Los Angeles.
All performances, as well as the Just For Laughs Awards Show, will be available across Canada on the festival website, https://www.hahaha.com/en.
Much of the online programming will be free.
The virtual awards show will honour Dave Chappelle, Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live writer and performer Bowen Yang and the writers and cast of the Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso.
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Set for live audiences in Montreal are a “Just for Laughs Live” showcase hosted by Jon Dore, “Comedy Night in Canada” hosted by Ali Hassan and “New Faces: Canada” hosted by Dave Merheje.
Canadian comic Sabrina Jalees will host “Just for Laughs Live in L.A.,” where Andy Kindler will host “The Alternative Show” and Peter Holmes will host “New Faces of Comedy.”
Other programming set to take place in L.A. includes “In Conversation with Bert Kreischer,” presented by Variety.
Dulce Sloan will host “Just for Laughs Live in N.Y.” in front of a live audience in the Big Apple, where Big Jay Oakerson will helm “The Nasty Show.”
Comedy star Kevin Hart’s comedy brand Laugh Out Loud will offer special shows online, including “Comedy Gold Minds with Kevin Hart” and “Date Night with Chris & Vanessa,” featuring performer Chris Spencer and casting director Vanessa Spencer.
There will also be “Quake’s House with Earthquake,” featuring stand-up comedian Earthquake, and “The Ladies Room with Jazzy,” featuring online sensation Jasmin (Jazzy) Brown and her girlfriends Natalie Friedman, Briana Lawrence, Renita Woodland and Kiya Roberts.
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The festival also plans to offer an industry conference called ComedyPRO in digital format.
Merheje is among the comics who will also tape original comedy specials for CTV Comedy in front of a live audience in Montreal.