In an era where literally anything that’s posted online can be called “fact” without any proof to back it up, and where comedy news shows are providing the most in-depth political coverage out there, it’s no surprise that more and more performers are getting in on the action. The latest comic to create his own news-focused show is former Daily Show correspondent Ed Helms, who just announced he’s producing a special for Comedy Central called The Fake News with Ted Nelms.
According to Deadline, the show will be “exactly what it sounds like: a comedy special featuring absurd, made-up news that closely resembles real news, delivered by an absurd, made-up guy who closely resembles Ed Helms. With the sound off, TFN will look exactly like CNN or Fox News, but with the sound on, it will live in the great deadpan comedy tradition of Peter Sellers, Monty Python and Leslie Nielsen.”
Former Daily Show staffer Stu Miller will produce the project, along with Helms, who will also star.
The special doesn’t have a premiere date, but it’s slated to air before the end of the year on Comedy Central.
In honor of Helms’ return to political reporting, here’s a vintage, eight-year-old clip of a babyfaced Helms reporting on digital cameras for The Daily Show:
