Amazon Freevee Greenlights Late-Night Comedy Show Mock the Week, From Emmy Winner Trevor Noah and BAFTA Award-Winning Executive Producer Dan Patterson

Trevor Noah / Photo Credit: Netflix     Dan Patterson / Photo Credit: Dan Patterson

NEW YORK—May 1, 2023—Today, ahead of its presentation at the 2023 Amazon NewFront, Amazon Freevee announced a series pickup for a U.S. version of the long-running UK television hit series Mock the Week. Originally created by BAFTA Award-winning executive producers Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson (Whose Line Is It Anyway?), the half-hour comedy program combines the best elements of panel shows, stand-up comedy, and improvised games, with two teams of comedians taking a satirical swipe at current news, pop culture, and world events. Emmy-winning comedian Trevor Noah (The Daily Show) will executive produce the U.S. series with Patterson. Production on the series will begin in 2024. The host will be announced at a later date.

“Two things I’m most passionate about in life are paying my landlord and making people laugh. We could all use a little bit more laughter as we continue to navigate today’s crazy world,” said Trevor Noah, executive producer. “By bringing Mock the Week to America with the talented Dan Patterson, I’m looking forward to doing just that.”

“After 21 successful seasons on the BBC, we can’t wait to bring the format to the U.S. and work with America’s deep pool of brilliant comedians,” said Dan Patterson, executive producer.

“For years, Mock the Week delivered a witty spin on the news—entertaining a broad cross-section of the UK audience through funny conversations, one-liners, and improv comedy. In one episode, you can catch up on weekly headlines, hear multiple points of view on a topic, and find your next favorite stand-up comedian,” said Lauren Anderson, head of AVOD Originals, unscripted, and targeted programming, Amazon Studios. “We are thrilled to expand our comedic slate on Amazon Freevee, with this much-needed series from Dan Patterson and Trevor Noah, two enormously talented producers with the exceptional ability to marry laughter and learning.”

The U.S. version of Mock the Week will be executive produced by Dan Patterson, Trevor Noah, Mark Leveson, Norman Aladjem, Sanaz Yamin, Derek Van Pelt, and Rob Lee. The series is produced by Angst Productions, Day Zero Productions, Mainstay Entertainment, and Amazon Studios. The UK version of Mock the Week aired new episodes for nearly two decades from 2005-2022. The show and its performers were nominated for several awards, including the BAFTA Awards, British Comedy Awards, and National Television Awards.

Trevor Noah is one of the most successful comedians in the world and is known for being the most recent host of the Emmy award-winning The Daily Show on Comedy Central, as well as the host of the Grammy Awards for the past three years. Prime Video recently announced that Trevor Noah will also be working with Amazon Studios as the host for the unscripted comedy series LOL: Last One Laughing South Africa, which will be the first South African Original for Prime Video. Trevor is also the author of the New York Times best-selling book, Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood. Trevor is writing a new book for fall 2023. This book is a gorgeously illustrated and moving modern fable for readers of all ages about forgiveness, acceptance, and the secret to solidarity. He is now developing and producing diverse, high-quality creative content with Day Zero Productions; and through his philanthropic work, has launched the Trevor Noah Foundation to improve equitable access to quality education for underserved youth in South Africa.

Dan Patterson has been a television producer/writer for over 30 years, creating a number of hit TV shows including Whose Line Is It Anyway? (the British and American versions), Mock The Week (21 seasons), Clive Anderson Talks Back, and Clive Anderson All Talk. He was also responsible for bringing Room 101 to television. In addition to television, he has co-written for theater with The Duck House (which was nominated for an Olivier Award) and Winner’s Curse.

This release rounds out the list of Amazon Freevee NewFront announcements today including greenlights for Justice on Trial, The GOAT, and Mock the Week, as well as subsequent season pickup announcements for Judy Justice and Bosch: Legacy.

Spanning drama and comedy, scripted and unscripted, Amazon Freevee uniquely offers premium Originals on a free streaming service, including Primo, the coming-of-age comedy from Michael Schur and Shea Serrano, premiering on May 19; the recently launched concert special Monumental: Ellie Goulding at Kew Gardens; and the new documentary-style comedy series Jury Duty, featuring James Marsden. Additional Originals include High School, the critically acclaimed coming-of-age series based on Tegan and Sara Quin’s best-selling memoir; Greg Garcia’s comedy series Sprung; and the cooking competition series featuring a cast of home chefs, America’s Test Kitchen: The Next Generation.

About Amazon Freevee
Amazon Freevee is a streaming video service with thousands of premium movies and TV shows, including Originals and free ad-supported (FAST) channels, available anytime, for free.

• Expansive Catalog: Amazon Freevee offers viewers ambitious Originals, including Bosch: Legacy; Emmy-winning court program Judy Justice; coming-of-age drama High School; docu-comedy series Jury Duty; performance special Monumental: Ellie Goulding at Kew Gardens; reality design series Hollywood Houselift with Jeff Lewis; comedy series Sprung; music documentary Post Malone: Runaway; heist drama Leverage: Redemption; spy thriller Alex Rider; and the sports docuseries UNINTERRUPTED’s Top Class: The Life and Times of the Sierra Canyon Trailblazers. Combined with an always updating library of broadly appealing hit movies and TV shows across a wide selection of genres, and a catalog of more than 250 FAST channels, including Judy Justice and Crime 360, Amazon Freevee delivers customers the content they would expect to see on a paid service.
• Free: The entire catalog of content on the service is free. No paid subscriptions necessary.
• Limited Ads: Amazon Freevee provides customers highly sought content supported by limited advertising.
• Instant Access: Amazon Freevee is available as an app on Fire TV, Fire Tablets, and within the Prime Video app. Amazon Freevee is available as an app on third party devices including Roku, Samsung smart TVs (2017-2021 models), Apple TV 4K, Apple TV HD, Comcast’s Xfinity Flex, Xfinity X1, Chromecast with Google TV, NVIDIA SHIELD and other Android TV devices, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 consoles, as well as LG Smart TVs (2018-2021 models). The app is also available on iPhone, iPad, and Android mobile devices.

To learn more about Amazon Freevee, visit www.amazon.com/freevee and follow @AmazonFreevee.

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Freevee PR Contacts: 
Caly Johnson 
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Sonia Koo
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