Joe Torry To Host The Next Comedy All-Star

Legendary Comedian Joe Torry Appears in New Competition-Based Comedy Television Show “The Next Comedy All-Star” for Centric TV

Show Scheduled to Air on Centric July 18th Following Last Week’s Live Premiere at LA Live Nokia Theatre for BET Experience

In partnership with BET and the BET Awards, Torry has teamed up with Centric TV for its newest show “The Next Comedy All-Star with Joe Torry.” The show made its live debut in front of a sold out audience at LA Live Nokia Theatre last week, in conjunction with the BET Experience. With such an impressive reception, Centric has scheduled the show’s television premiere for July 18th, 2014.

Torry is the host of the new competition-based comedy show for Centric TV, which culminates with a grand prize of $25,000 for the reigning comedian. Five renowned comedians enter the ring:

Red Grant got his start at the Apollo Theatre, where he soon landed a spot on HBO’s Def Comedy Jam. Beyond comedy, Grant has experience as a producer, writer, and director, making his directorial debut with the film, “Family Reunion.” He has also been featured on numerous comedy tours and performances, with specials on Comedy Central and Showtime.

Gary “G-Thang” Johnson has 14 years of doing stand-up comedy, acting, and hosting under his belt. As an actor, writer, and comedian, Johnson is known for his roles in Diaster Movie, Moneyball, and his televised stand up special, “G-Thang: I Got Problems.”
Nika Williams: Originally from Miami, Florida, Williams is an actress, comedian, and producer. She is best known for her work in “50 First Dates,” “American Weapon,” and “Wanda Sykes Presents Herlarious.”

Malik S.: The last of seven children, Malik used humor to defend himself from his older siblings. As a writer and comedian, he is best known for his work on the Soul Train Awards and BET’s Comicview. He has appeared HBO’s Def Comedy Jam, Comedy Central’s Live at Gotham, and NBC’s Last Comic Standing. He is currently a writer for the TV Land sitcom “The Soul Man.”

Rudy Rush has worked with industry greats such as Dave Chapelle, Jamie Foxx, and Martin Lawrence. He hosted Showtime at the Apollo, and has starred in his own Comedy Central special. He is currently touring with The Moth out of New York City, and has an HBO special coming this fall.

Each competitor is hoping for a knockout but only one will emerge the heavyweight champ of comedy.

In addition to his new Centric television show, Torry will continue his nationwide tour Joe Torry Live with performances beginning July 5th, 2014. For a full list of show dates and locations, contact information is provided below.

Joe Torry is best known as the former host and one of the most memorable comedians of HBO’s Def Comedy Jam and for his notable role as “Chicago” in the Oscar Nominated film Poetic Justice. Currently, Torry stars alongside Vivica A Fox in the new film “The Power of Love”. Torry is also featured in the recent release “Act Like You Love Me” (Essence Atkins, Christian Keyes, Lynn Whitfield). He will appear in the upcoming 2014 films “Soul Ties” (Christopher McDonald, Katy Mixon) and “King James Kitchen” (John Amos, Paula Jai Parker and Cassi Davis). He has a principal role in the current hit Cinemax show “Zane’s The Jump Off” (a spin-off of Zane’s Chronicles) and continues to perform his acclaimed live comedy show nationwide. Joe Torry was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2006 with legends such as Richard Pryor, Jerry Lee Lewis and Bill Cosby.