5 Best American Cable Networks For Original Programming
4. Comedy Central
Owned by Viacom, best known on television for Nickelodeon and MTV, Comedy Central began life predominantly as a home of comedy films and original specials by stand-ups, though it created a cult phenomenon in its early years with Mystery Science Theatre 3000. Since the late 1990s, it has invested more and more in original creations, however, including its infamous annual 'roasts' of celebrities and Chappelle's Show, which ultimately aired for just two seasons before creator Dave Chappelle walked. Undoubtedly the network's greatest success has been South Park, which has been its backbone for eighteen years, first airing in 1996. Its creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, have consistently come up with excellent material year-on-year, making their show stand out from the likes of The Simpsons and Family Guy, which peaked many years ago and have rarely come close to their best ever since. The secret to their success seems to be topicality, as the pair have a knack for delivering hilariously satirical takes on current events and trends by writing and producing episodes only a week ahead of airing, with recent subjects of ridicule including Game of Thrones, drones, Oculus Rift, Kickstarter, freemium gaming and the media obsession with video bloggers and social media trending. Comedy Central is far from a one-trick pony, however, even if it has had more than its fair share of flops throughout the years to make up for the roaring success of the Daily Show and the Colbert Report, the two news satire shows that made up the network's weekday late night schedule until the end of 2014. With Stephen Colbert having already departed from his show to take on David Letterman's role on the Late Show (on CBS), and Jon Stewart set to step down from his role as the anchor of the Daily Show, the network is potentially facing a mass exodus of viewers, though the critical reception to the Colbert Report's replacement, the Nightly Show, has been positive and there numerous contributors to the current Daily Show format that are more than capable of taking over the reins. Elsewhere, the channel has been bolstered by the likes of @midnight, a panel show with an internet focus, hosted by Chris Hardwick (best known for The Nerdist podcast) and Inside Amy Schumer, the sketch show created by the titular Schumer, who has all of the necessary tools to be the next female breakout star of the comedy film industry. A channel with a singular genre focus is never going to be truly mainstream, but Comedy Central excels within its boundaries, offering a wide range to comedic programming to successfully compete with the sitcoms that make up most of the comedic output of its competitors.
