In April, the CW announced that it was renewing comedy sketch series MadTV this summer. The revival, much like the original, will feature comedic parody sketches and MadTV‘s traditionally irreverent humor. Deadline quoted David E. Salzman, executive producer of the original series and returning as executive producer and showrunner of the revival, as saying, “The MadTV franchise is as vibrant as ever thanks largely to social and digital media appealing to a fan base numbering in the millions that relates to the show’s brand of authentic and irreverent cross-cultural comedy. We will continue to present the hard-hitting, laugh-out-loud, wall-to-wall pop culture parody our fans expect, but in a fresh, new way.”
Today, the CW announced the cast members of the new MadTV: Jeremy Howard, Adam Ray, Carlie Craig, Chelsea Davison, Amir K, Lyric Lewis, Piotr Michael and Michelle Ortiz. Notably, three of the eight new cast members were featured in the CBS Diversity Showcase, which is a comedy sketch talent showcase that is put on each year featuring new, diverse talent for an industry audience. Both Michelle Ortiz and Jeremy Howard were featured in the 2016 CBS Diversity Showcase, which featured hilarious sketches like “Selfie Death Tango,” “Elizabethan Dick Pics” and “Black Storm Troopers.” Lyric Lewis was featured in the 2015 CBS Diversity Showcase and is trained by the Groundlings School.
The other cast members come from a diverse array of comedy backgrounds from stand-up to improv to digital sketches. Amir K appeared on Last Comic Standing. Adam Ray creates and stars in popular online comedy sketches and has been in comedies such as The Heat and Spy. Piotr Michael is an impressionist, who has done impressions for The Howard Stern Show and is featured as a voice actor in Wander Over Yonder. Chelsea Davidson is a comedy writer and performer, who before MadTV wrote for popular Comedy Central show @midnight.
As Deadline reports, the MadTV revival comes on the heels of a 20th anniversary reunion show, which aired on the CW in January and brought in 1.7 million viewers. Along with all of these new faces, some former MadTV cast members will make an appearance on the show as the host of each episode, but those cast members have yet to be announced.