Comedy Central is turning Drunk History, Funny or Die’s popular series of web videos, into a full-on TV series. The cable network has ordered an eight-episode first season to be produced by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, making it Funny or Die’s second TV show on the air after Fuse’s Billy on the Street. For the uninitiated, Drunk History features intoxicated people recounting historical events while big famous actors reenact them. A Drunk History short that starred Will Ferrell as Abraham Lincoln and Don Cheadle as Frederick Douglass won Best American Short Film at the Sundance Festival in 2010. Jim Carrey, Ryan Gosling, Jack Black, Zooey Deschanel, John C. Reilly, Michael Cera, and Danny McBride are some of the celebrities who have served as reenactors in past Drunk History segments. Joining McKay and Ferrell as producers are Derek Waters, creator of the original shorts, and Jeremy Konner, who directed them, along with Gary Sanchez Productions higher-ups Chris Henchy and Owen Burke.
In other Comedy Central news, the network renewed Workaholics for a fourth and fifth season, consisting of 13 episodes each. The show, which is set to begin the second half of its third season January 16th, has become one of Comedy Central’s biggest hits over the last few years, seeing its stars/co-creators Blake Anderson, Adam DeVine, and Anders Holm landing high-profile supporting roles outside of the series in Arrested Development, Community, Key & Peele, and Pitch Perfect. Still no comment from Comedy Central on overwhelming pressure from fans to bring back The Jeff Dunham Show.