In the year since the final episode of The Chris Gethard Show aired, Gethard has—much to the relief of his fans—remained fairly busy. And while there’s been no shortage of Gethard in our lives, we’ve certainly missed the comedian’s presence on TV. Thankfully, his absence from the small screen will be short-lived, as Gethard is officially returning to television—sort of. As Vulture reports, the comedian is set to host Chris Gethard Presents, a new hour-long public access comedy showcase on the Manhattan News Network (formerly home to The Chris Gethard Show). In a lengthy note, Gethard explains that although he was initially hesitant to return to public access (“it would be pretty disingenuous for me to try to somehow reclaim any underground credibility I had back in 2011,” he says), he thought it would be a great opportunity to support other comedians in various stages of their careers.
Premiering on June 26th, Chris Gethard Presents will offer a weekly showcase for other comedians and “their most experimental, batshit ideas,” as well as “the place where smart comedy viewers go to find that type of cool shit.” Gethard explains:
Worst-case scenario, this becomes a playground for New York’s comics to have a platform to try out their ideas in an unfiltered way. I’d love it if people were to say, “You know, I have this idea that no one’s going to fund, or no network is going to buy, but I think it deserves to exist – let me take it to MNN.” I love the idea of building something that can be seen far and wide that shows off the type of stuff that you actually see on stages all over NYC before any notes or corporate sponsors or mandates get involved.
And best-case scenario, maybe we can catch some momentum and turn this into a place people go to find the next big thing.
Gethard has already lined up a handful of comedians for the show, including Carmen Christopher, Christi Chiello, and Rachel Pegram. Just don’t expect to see Gethard himself on screen; he’ll be serving as a “curator” rather than host. Even still, I’m sure his presence will be felt every week.