Just for Laughs (British TV series)

Just for Laughs is a British silent comedy/hidden camera television show, and the UK adaptation of the Canadian series of the same name, that began in Montreal in late 2000. It was broadcast on Saturday nights on BBC One. It was produced by Wild Rover Productions with Philip Morrow as producer.[2] It started airing in 2003 and ran for five seasons, going off air in 2007.[citation needed] During its run, it was the only Saturday night entertainment show currently on BBC One to be produced by an independent television company based outside London.[3]

Just for Laughs
GenreComedy
Developed byWild Rover Productions
Directed byPascal Carrette
Jett Loe
StarringKeith Law
Kirsteen O'Sullivan
Sonia Butterworth[1]
Opening themeJust for Laughs Theme
Ending themeJust for Laughs Theme
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languagesSilent
English
No. of series5
No. of episodes50+
Production
Executive producersMike Edgar
Pierre Girard
ProducerPhilip Morrow
Production locationsBelfast, Leeds
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time22 minutes
Original release
NetworkBBC One
Release31 May 2003 (2003-05-31) –
21 July 2007 (2007-07-21)
Related
Just for Laughs Gags

Just for Laughs was filmed primarily in and around Belfast, Northern Ireland, Glasgow, Scotland and Leeds, England. The Belfast Botanic Gardens were a common filming location for doing some pranks.

Just for Laughs has a Canadian sister version called Just for Laughs Gags, and the format of the two is identical. Some clips for Just for Laughs are taken directly from Just for Laughs Gags, and vice versa.

Repeat broadcasts edit

Since Just For Laughs ended on BBC One in 2007, the show was rarely repeated although Paramount Comedy 2 repeated the series at weekends for a short period in 2006, But it was not until 2009 when Channel 5's Sister Channel 5* (then called Fiver) bought the rights to repeat the episodes on weekday afternoons. Since the summer of 2010 the show has not been repeated on 5* and seemed highly unlikely to ever be repeated. However, from Monday 23 July 2012 the program was repeated on Comedy Central Extra for first time since 2006.[4] The JustforlaughsTV YouTube channel has over 1 billion video views.

DVD releases edit

There have been several DVD releases of Just For Laughs which are below, each of these releases have been postponed

  • Just For Laughs Volume 1[5]
  • Just For Laughs – The Best of Series One[6]

References edit

  1. ^ "just for laughs: actor profiles". Archived from the original on 28 February 2009. Retrieved 29 December 2008.
  2. ^ "Just For Laughs: Starting on BBC One, Saturday 31 May, 6.30pm". 27 May 2003. Retrieved 29 December 2008.
  3. ^ "Just for Laughs Back on Television". Northern Ireland Screen Board. 3 February 2006. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2008.
  4. ^ "Comedy Central Extra TV Listings & TV Guide | LocateTV". Archived from the original on 18 June 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
  5. ^ "Just for Laughs". UK: Amazon.
  6. ^ "Just for Laughs – Best of Series 1". UK: Amazon. 29 March 2010.

External links edit