MELISSA PETERMAN SIGNS ON TO HOST PREMIERE EPISODES OF NEW CMT STAND UP SERIES, “CMT COMEDY STAGE”
11/30/06
NASHVILLE – November 30, 2006 – Comedic actress Melissa Peterman (“Reba”) has been tapped to host the first four episodes of the new half-hour stand-up comedy series, CMT COMEDY STAGE, premiering in February 2007. This series features rising stars, as well as popular comedic favorites, including Etta May, Jon Reep, Vic Henley and Killer Beaz. CMT COMEDY STAGE will tape before a live audience at the historic Belcourt Theatre in Nashville in January 2007.
“CMT has been looking to dive into the stand-up world for quite some time,” said John C. Feld, executive producer, CMT. “Our audience loves comedy, as evidenced by the success of our series FOXWORTHY'S BIG NIGHT OUT and CMT COMEDY CLUB. And now, with Melissa and our great roster of comics onboard, CMT COMEDY STAGE promises to be the next exciting piece of our comedy franchise."
Peterman, who currently stars in the CW comedy, “Reba”, is from Minneapolis, Minn. After graduating from Minnesota State University, she was cast as Madeline Monroe in Hey City Theater's production of "Tony & Tina's Wedding". After more than 600 performances, she went on to work as a writer and performer at the improvisational comedy theater, The Brave New Workshop. While with The Brave New Workshop, she also performed at the Chicago Improv Festival and the Big Stink Comedy Festival in Austin, Texas. She made her film debut as Hooker #2 in the Coen brothers' Oscar-winning movie Fargo (1996). On television, she appeared in the Oxygen sketch comedy show “Running With Scissors” and guest-starred on “Just Shoot Me.”
CMT COMEDY STAGE is produced by Tom Forrest and Ben Tyson of Taillight TV. John C. Feld serves as executive in charge of production for CMT.
CMT, America’s No. 1 country music network, carries original programming, specials, and live concerts and events, as well as a mix of videos by established country music artists and new cutting-edge acts, including world premiere exclusive videos. Founded March 6, 1983, CMT, owned and operated by MTV Networks, reaches more than 83 million households in the United States. Go to country music’s biggest web site at www.cmt.com.
# # #
PRESS CONTACTS:
Natasha Powell 615.335.8412 natasha.powell@cmt.com
Chris Delhomme 310.752.8635 chris.delhomme@vh1staff.com
