Comedy Central picks up two series
 

David Alan Grier (Getty Images photo)
Comedy Central has handed out series pickups to David Alan Grier's fake magazine show and a reality spoof from the producers of NBC's "The Biggest Loser."

The news comes on the heels of Comedy's 2008-09 development slate announcement, which included both projects as well as the series order for the fantasy comedy "Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire," which debuts in first-quarter 2009.

The working-titled "David Alan Grier's Chocolate News," also bowing in the first quarter, will investigate such "inherently urban pop culture topics" as an operation to save black and white conjoined twins, steroid use in Little Leaguers and a rapper's public service announcement gone awry.

Grier hosts the half-hour show and also executive produces with Robert Morton (Comedy Central's "Mind of Mencia"), Fax Bahr and Adam Small (Fox's "Mad TV") and Generate's Peter Aronson and Jordan Levin. The episode order has yet to be determined.

"Reality Bites," also a working title, is a spoof of the reality genre that features comedians in an elimination-style competition where every episode is a self-contained spoof of one of the major reality formats, such as "Are You Smarter Than a Monkey?" "So You Think You Can Dive!" "Almost American Gladiators" and "The Amazing Disgrace." The winner will end up being the "last comic standing" and win a cash prize.


Comedy has ordered eight half-hour episode of "Reality Bites," which debuts in the summer. The show is from 3Ball Prods., J.D. Roth, Todd Nelson and Adam Greener.

"Chocolate News" and "Bites" are "unique series that bring fresh new concepts and distinctive points of view to Comedy Central," said Lauren Corrao, the network's president of original programming and development