Craig Ferguson is ready to return to television.
More than eight years after ending his late-night talk show on CBS, the comedian has struck a deal with Sony Pictures Television for a new program that will start airing later this year.
The program, called “Channel Surf,” will see Ferguson and his comedian friends dissecting the week’s most-discussed pop culture and newsworthy moments.
The show will air in syndication, and is expected to fill the late-night slot that is currently occupied by some local programming and sitcom re-runs.
“With a shortage of sitcoms available for stations, viewers need a place to laugh,” Zack Hernandez, the senior vice president of syndication sales at Sony Pictures Television, said on Tuesday. “Channel Surf is that perfect show. Craig is an extraordinary talent who has excelled in late night, daytime and primetime and has incredibly high awareness. Viewers know and love him.”
A test show, which Hernandez described as “hilarious,” was filmed in the United Kingdom earlier this month, and the program is in the process of being pitched to TV buyers.
Ferguson said the timing was right for a program that takes a lighthearted jab at television itself.
“I wanted to do Channel Surf because I think television is ready for the return of the silly, funny, occasional lip-synching puppet format,” Ferguson affirmed. “Also, it’s a TV show which contains clips of questionable moments from other TV shows, thus creating a spectacular visual turducken of stupid.”
Ferguson, Tom McLennan, Joe Bolter and Richard Easter will serve as executive producers of the show. Easter and Bolter will also write for the program.
