Comedy Stars (franchise)

Comedy Stars was an international reality television franchise aimed to find future comedians. Serving as a precursor to the Goofball Academy franchise, Comedy Stars originated in Ireland in 1998 before getting sold elswhere. Depsite all shows in the Comedy Stars franchise having been cancelled, it still remains a successful TV format, having been sold to over 20 countries.

History
The show originated in Ireland in 1998 when Phil Malloy created a series of games that tested the comedic skills of each contestant. Malloy then licensed the concept to screen time in Japan, who then on sold it to DR in Denmark before taking it worldwide.

Although Comedy Stars had started successfully in most countries during the early 2000's, the shows gradually began to fail and were dropped by many broadcasters due to poor ratings. The last country where Comedy Stars was still successful was Canada. This is where Global TV produced the ninth season in 2010 following a successful Friday night time slot, but in 2012, the show was finally cancelled following a controversial finale. In 2007, the show returned to Norway for one season. A new version of Comedy Stars started in 2008 in Singapore, only to run for three seasons after previously being cancelled in the mid-2000's. Canada's version returned for an eleventh season in 2015, but would later get cancelled after the season finale due to "embarrassing" ratings given yet another time slot, this time set for Thrusdays at 6:30 in the evening.