Denis Leary To Produce “Roasts”

If they are even a fraction as funny as the Friar’s Roasts, i’m in
Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Leary, Comedy cook up roast franchise

Comedy Central is launching a roast franchise and has recruited actor-producer Denis Leary to produce it. The cable channel has inked a deal with Leary and Jim Serpico’s Apostle Pictures to produce Comedy Central-branded annual specials poking fun at well-known personalities for the next three years. Leary is going to be the first to step into the roasting pit with “The Comedy Central Roast of Denis Leary,” which will be taped June 26 for an Aug. 10 broadcast. Michael J. Fox, James Gandolfini, Elizabeth Hurley, Colin Quinn, Jon Stewart and Christopher Walken are among the celebrities scheduled to attend. In the past five years, Comedy Central carried the New York Friars Club annual roast ceremonies, with the telecasts ranking as the five top-rated specials in the channel’s history. This year, the Friars Club decided not to have their roast televised. Meanwhile, Comedy Central has been exploring the idea of launching its own roast franchise better suited for TV than the designed-as-a-live-event Friars ceremony and approached longtime collaborator Leary with it.