Samberg and his The Lonely Island mates, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, as well as Paul Schee will executive produce 'Party Over Here' that will feature pre-taped shorts and in-studio segments.
- February 5, 2016
AceShowbiz -
"Saturday Night Live" will soon have a rival on Saturday nights. FOX has greenlit "Party Over Here", a half-hour sketch series that will be executive produced by comedy trio The Lonely Island, which consists of Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, as well as Paul Scheer ("The League").
Set to air Saturdays beginning March 12 at 11 P.M., "Party Over Here" will feature short skits and in-studio segments filmed in front of a live audience at L.A.'s Alexandria Hotel. Nicole Byer ("Girl Code"), Jessica McKenna ("Riot") and former "SNL" writer Alison Rich ("Resident Advisors") will star.
"When we first conceived this idea, we thought of it as a spin-off of 'Empire'," The Lonely Island said in a statement. "We failed miserably ... now it's much more of a sketch comedy show." Scheer added, "In an age where most millennials don't even know what a TV is, we are really excited to be getting into the TV business."
While it has been dubbed an "SNL" rival, "Party Over Here" actually won't air exactly at the same time the veteran show does. "One of our stipulations to Fox was that we wouldnt air at the same time as @nbcsnl," The Lonely Island explained via Twitter. "This show is over at 11:30." Moreover, "SNL" boss Lorne Michaels has given his blessing as the group added, "We called Lorne first to get his blessing."
Samberg, Schaffer and Taccone were all part of "SNL". Samberg was a featured player, while Schaffer and Taccone were hired as writers before the three departed the show in the early 2010s.
