The Gulf’s consumer television revolution continues to kick into high gear with OSN announcing the lauch of Comedy Central HD in the region. Enlisting the help of comedic superstar Trevor Noah to help out, the South African funnyman hosted an episode of The Daily Show live from Dubai last night.
The episode saw the presented appear alongside Saudi comic, Fahad Al-Butairi, as the world’s number one comedy network made its debut in the region.
The Comdey Central brand has become famous for featuring local and international comedy that was entirely exclusive to and tailor-made for the network and the launch of it in the region could potentially be a huge boost for the local comedy scene.
Trevor Noah, probably the comedy world’s rag-to-riches poster boy, started performing stand up in his home country of South Africa, and has gone on to gain international acclaim before making it to the United States. What started off as a few regular contributions over the course of a few months on The Daily Show, quickly escalated to Noah being offered the opportunity to host the show after Jon Stewart announced his retirement in last year. Noah has since then gone on to become a successful host and attract a diverse audience to the popular American show.
Fahad Al Butairi is not too different from his peer. The first Saudi stand-up comedian to garner regional success, Al Butairi has gone on to perform in LA and New York. His success came from his successful YouTube show, La Yekthar, and a hugely popular video No Woman, No Drive which he co-wrote that boasts over 13 million views on YouTube. His presence will add a regional flair to the evening.
Comedy Central has managed to bring a lot in all the 120 countries they are already in. Apart from its commitment to local productions, some of the other popular programs the brand will be airing in this region include Inside Amy Schumer, South Park, a dedicated block of Spike content, and even the YouTube viral sensation Lip Sync Battle, all of which will be premiering on Comedy Central HD with Arabic subtitles.