Starz Entertainment’s hilarious stand-up comedy series, “Martin Lawrence Presents 1st Amendment Stand-up” returns for a fifth season with a new host, comedian Sheryl Underwood, and a fresh line-up of rising and seasoned comedy stars. The show, which is Starz’ longest running original series, is scheduled to premiere in October.
Performances for the fifth season will be taped May 13-16 before a live audience at The Chicago Theatre. Underwood will step in for original host Doug Williams, who will continue to serve as executive producer of the show. Comedians scheduled to appear in the series include Deon Cole, who will also guest host two episodes, Sandra Bernhard, Jimmie “J.J.” Walker, Roz G, D’Militant, Scruncho, Darren Carter, Pierre, Jay Phillips, Melanie Comarcho, Ian Edwards, Chocolate, Damon Williams, among others.
“Sheryl is one of the funniest women I know,” said Lawrence, who is the show’s executive producer. “She keeps her comedy real, she keeps it raw and that’s my kind of stand-up.”
“It’s great to have the show return to Starz for another season and it’s a tremendous pleasure to have Sheryl, one of the funniest comedians on the scene, join as host,” said Williams. “Sheryl will bring her likable style to the stage and her ability to make controversial topics humorous. Showcasing edgy, in-your-face talent is what this show is all about.”
“’Martin Lawrence Presents 1st Amendment Stand-up’ provides a unique national platform to showcase some of the top comedians at their unfiltered best,” said Stephan Shelanski, executive vice president, programming, Starz Entertainment. “We’re fortunate to get someone as fresh and funny as Sheryl Underwood to host the show this season.”
Underwood served as host of BET’s “Comic View” and her own BET talk show “Hollah.” Her other television credits include HBO’s “All Star Def Comedy Jam,” Showtime’s “Laffapalooza,” “Motown Live” and Fox’s “Saturday Night Special.” Her film credits include Bullworth, I Got the Hook Up and Beauty Shop.
With more than 20 years of professional comedy experience, Underwood has headlined top comedy clubs across the country, including Carolines On Broadway, the Improv and Funny Bone comedy club chains. Known as a political satirist, Underwood’s controversial opinions as a sexually progressive, God-fearing, African American, Republican woman come across loud and clear during her stand-up. Her claim to fame is that she dares to say what people are really thinking and makes no apologies for it.
Underwood holds a Master Degree and served in the USAF Reserve. She is a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., the National Council of Negro Women and the NAACP.
“Martin Lawrence Presents 1st Amendment Stand-up” is produced in association with Mojo Raid Entertainment, II LLC and Runteldat. The show is, directed and executive produced by Michael Bohusz. Michael Hare, Jack Giundi and Doug Williams are executive producers. Anchor Bay Entertainment holds exclusive US distribution rights to the series and Starz Media handles international sales.
Starz Entertainment, LLC, is a premium movie service provider operating in the United States. It offers 16 movie channels including the flagship Starz® and Encore® brands with approximately 16.9 million and 30.6 million subscribers respectively. Starz Entertainment airs more than 1,000 movies and new original series every month across its pay TV channels and offers advanced services including Starz HD, Encore HD, Starz On Demand, Encore On Demand, MoviePlex On Demand, Starz HD On Demand, Encore HD On Demand, MoviePlex HD On Demand, and Starz Play. Starz Entertainment (www.starz.com) is an operating unit of Starz, LLC, which is a controlled subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation, and is attributed to Liberty Starz, a tracking stock group of Liberty Media Corporation.
Anchor Bay Entertainment is the home entertainment division of Starz Media, LLC. It includes the Anchor Bay Films and Manga Entertainment brands. It distributes feature films, children’s entertainment, fitness, TV series, documentaries, anime and other filmed entertainment on DVD and Blu-ray formats. It is the exclusive distributor in the U.S. of the theatrical titles from Overture Films. Headquartered in Beverly Hills, CA, Anchor Bay Entertainment has offices in Troy, MI, as well as Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. Starz Media (www.starzmedia.com) is a controlled subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation attributed to the Liberty Capital Group.