EXCLUSIVE: Following the announcement of its first comedy special for Netflix – a current events talk show format hosted by Tim Dillon – Elan Gale’s TheYearOfElan Productions has signed a first-look deal with the world’s largest independent producer of live stand-up shows, Don’t Tell Comedy.
Don’t Tell, a platform for emerging comedians, will partner with the company to develop and produce a slate of unscripted content. Along with head of creative and development Bill Dixon, Gale will lead the new partnership and work directly with Don’t Tell Comedy’s executive team, including CEO Kyle Kazanjian-Amory, COO Brett Kushner and VP of production Marissa Gallant. Another partner on projects resulting from the deal will be ITV America, which signed an overall deal with TheYearOfElan last year.
Commenting on the deal, TheYearOfElan’s Dixon said: “As fans, we have followed Don’t Tell Comedy’s growth for years and are thrilled to bring their distinct taste and accomplished comedic talent to television.”
Gale joked that although “the first rule of Don’t Tell Comedy is ‘You don’t talk about Don’t Tell Comedy,’ unfortunately we just broke that rule.”
Kazanjian-Amory, CEO of the comedy organization, added: “At Don’t Tell Comedy, our mission is to develop the most trusted brand in stand-up that is number one with both audiences and comedians. We’ve been able to help launch the careers of some of the funniest people in the world, and we’re excited to partner with Bill, Elan and ITV America to create even more opportunities to develop the best up-and-coming talent.”
TheYearOfElan focuses on character-driven storytelling and hybrid formats and is perhaps best known for creating Max’s sizzling reality dating series FBoy Islandhosted by Nikki Glaser, who moved to The CW after her second season and inspired numerous international adaptations. A long-time producer of The Bachelorwho worked with horror maestro Mike Flanagan on his series The Midnight Club And Midnight MassGale is also an EP on Flanagan’s Stephen King adaptation The life of Chuckwhose world premiere will take place at TIFF.
Founded in 2017, Don’t Tell Comedy is known for its secret shows, where audiences buy tickets before learning details about the venue and comedians. The company produces more than 3,000 shows a year in the US, Canada, Europe and Australia, which have attracted hundreds of thousands of attendees to date. It has more than seven million followers on social media, including 1.6 million on YouTube alone, where its channel received over a billion views last year.
