
Improvisational comedy series Whose Line Is It Anyway?, which had a successful eight-season run on ABC, is coming back to American television, this time on the CW. The network has picked up a new take on the British format to air this summer. Comedian Aisha Tyler, co-host of The Talk, which airs on the CW sibling CBS, will host. She succeeds Drew Carey, who emceed the ABC version that ran during CW president Mark Pedowitz’s tenure at the network. Returning are Ryan Stiles, Wayne Brady and Colin Mochrie, who starred on the ABC series. The trio, along with a special guest each episode , will go through a series of spontaneous improv games. (Maybe they’ll bring back Richard Simmons, who killed it on a 2003 episode during the show’s ABC run — see the video below.) After each round of improvisation, Tyler will dole out “points” to our four performers and declare a winner at the end of every episode. (The CW has ordered 10). Whose Line, from Angst Prods and Hat Trick Prods, was co-created by Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson and is executive produced by Patterson, Mark Leveson, Jimmy Mulville, Stiles and Brady.
Here’s the Simmons video with Stiles, Brady and Mochrie:
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Any Asian comedians going to be on this?
lol
Actually, Karen Maruyama was on several episodes of the ABC run.
Maybe Karen Maruyama?
Or to catch up with the times, Bobby Lee or Ken Jeong?
If they bring back old guests then they’ll mostly have Karen Maruyama back on at least once.
most likely*
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THIS IDEA. An established comedy franchise to help draw viewers to summer fare, including the ANTM cycle with male models. This is genius.
This show has amused me for years, though I prefer the UK run more than the US run. But anything to see Ryan and Colin back on TV together in this format.
This is a great idea and a cheap way for the network to broaden their audienceand get back in the comedy game. I bet it outperforms most of their in-season lineup.
The people at The CW who came up with this and made it happen deserve a pat on the back.
Hey, don’t stick Brad Sherwood in the BG! Let the man’s improv light shine…
Unfortunately, Sherwood was a real weak link and that’s why he was never a featured player and why he apparently is not part of the new show.
I never thought of Brad as the weak link. That honor consistently went to Colin. Ryan always had to save Colin from complete embarrassment.
What an asinine comment. Clearly you never watched the show. While Stiles was the true star of the show, the only person who could ever crack him up was Mochrie.
Hear, hear!
Dude you cannot be serious. Colin is incredibly funny and, along with Ryan, the main reason the show was successful. Watch more than one episode before you spout nonsense.
I have seen Colin & Brad live, and he can do what Ryan can do, as well as Wayne. Brad was never a weak link.
That’s your opinion. I’d have to say that since he’s not part of the new show that most would agree he’s the weakest link. Sherwood just always seemed out of his element, deer in the headlights.
no one would agree he was the weakest link.
In my opinion, Brad was definitely not a weak link, never seemed out of his depth, and provided myself (and others i know) plenty of side splitting laughs… and the show will be weaker without him, each to his own though.
If anyone was a weak link it was Kathy Greenwood… I agree though, Brad was never my favorite guest. Greg, Chip, and Jeff ftw
I agee. Kathy Greenwood was terrible. I used to groan every time her name was announced at the top of the show.
I agree that Kathy Greenwood would be “The Weakest Link” if we had a category for that, but remember that she played in a Canadian drama called “Wind At My Back,” which is airing on some of these Christian-based TV stations, so I don’t think that comedy was her strong point to begin with.
Brad was the best of the ’4th chair’ of rotating comics. To suggest that he, and Colin, were any sort of ‘weak links’ is insanity. Their long-running 2-man improve touring show is tremendous. I thought Brad was the quickest and cleverest on the ABC show.
I agree Brad was a strong 4th chair. I personally preferred Greg Proops but they have different styles so it is really a matter of taste rather than talent. Kathy was horrible though. Pretty much everybody can agree with that.
Right. Except not. Saw Brad and Colin’s Two Man Group show once live and also on DVD. Brad was definitely NOT a weak link.
The show is only cast for THREE regulars and a rotation guest. 3 guesses as to who the 3 guys are who are capable of making the FULL-TIME commitment to filming are???
Nice move CW, this is a fan favorite to most millenials who grew up with the original and saw it again in reruns at midnight on ABC Family back in the day before it was a right for an up and coming comedian to produce their own basic cable talk show… Now there’s like 20 late night talk shows to pick from. ABC had some sort of knockoff last summer that was hardly promoted… They better promote this one heavily on Facebook, You-Tube, etc.
Great news. The show was consistently funny, costs less to make. Sorry to hear Drew isn’t coming back, but I suspect he was the most expensive person on the show, but was the worst at improv. Aisha Tyler isn’t very funny either (I recall her terrible stint as “Talk Soup” host) but the improv bits are what is important. Having Aisha there takes care of the problem they had of finding funny females to take the 4th seat.
I am SO excited. I love this show, love improv, love those three guys, and love Aisha from Archer. I can’t wait.
Bad choice with Aisha Tyler.
Maybe, but in reality Carey contributed little to the show. I suspect Tyler will contribute just as little.
Maybe so, but Clive Anderson, who did the British show, did even less. At least Drew did a bit with members of the cast, and I suppose Aisha will do the same.
Aisha Tyler is never a bad choice for anything. Yum.
Excellent news
I’m in!
CW, I humbly applaud you. Whose Line is my childhood show, and ive been watching these fine men for 15 years, and just hearing that W L 2013 is going to happen is the highlight of my day! Too bad Drew isn’t coming back, but he’s doing fantastic where he is right now! Will Brad Sherwood, Jeff Davis, Johnathan Magnum, Greg Proops, and Sean Masterson be on here? What about Chip Esten? I know hes doing Nashville at the moment, but he could guest star once in a while..
These are all good choices, but you need to add some of the original British version alun, namely Stephen Fry, Josie Lawrence, etc
I’m hoping with the show being put on CW, that they’ll be able to loosen the censorship strings, just a bit to make it more exciting. Whether or not we’ll see Chip Esten on the series, is unknown, due to him starring in ABC series Nashville now. But I hope to see most of the original Whose Line cast, and maybe some new fresh faces. It’ll be awesome either way.
With this and bringing back Arsenio, I think the CW will certainly get their shot at good ratings.
As the thousand upon thousands of people who regularly fill the halls and theaters across the US to see Brad Sherwood & Colin Mocherie’s touring improv show will no doubt attest, Brad is a hilarious and gifted performer with impeccable timing and a unique ability to mine uproarious comedy from even the most mundane of improv suggestions. Anyone who says otherwise clearly has not seen this gifted artist/comedian at work.
YEA! I love Colin Mochrie… can’t wait to see the guys together again!
Awesome!!!!!! I love this show and have missed it so. Watching it always made my day
I Love this Show. Hope they bring back Brad Sherwood, Chip Eston and Greg Proops….
Get your stuff right. Chip ESTEN.
They can’t ask Drew Carey back because he currently hosts The Price Is Right which airs on either ABC or CBS his contract with the channel that airs The Price Is Right would be th3 thing that prevents him from coming back. Thats t.v politics for you
A. Aisha Tyler hosts The Talk on CBS.
B. Wayne Brady hosts Let’s Make a Deal on CBS.
C. The CW is half-owned by CBS.
If they wanted Drew back, and Drew wanted to be back, he would.
Aisha Tyler is abnormally unfunny – I wish they would reconsider her. Hopefully she won’t ruin what’s sure to be great otherwise.
Please bring back Denny Siegel! She vanished from the US series prematurely, and I’d love to see her on “Whose Line” again. Also throwing in votes for Greg Proops, Chip Esten and Jeff Davis.
I’m SO excited for this! I love this show and can’t wait to see some new ones! You guys rock!!
Can’t wait but Wishes Tyler? Really!?
I’ve watched all the seasons and many of the episodes more than once and Brad was the only one of the guests who I thought deserved to be permanent. He participated equally (and hilariously) in all games (unlike Greg Proops and Kathy Greenwood). He always got his punchlines right on, was very energetic and a nice pair with Wayne, especially during the songs. Chip Esten (sp?) was fun to watch too, but Brad was better.
Whoa whoa wait.. they’re actually going to be gathering points and declaring a winner this time around?
But.. the points don’t matter ;~;
I suspect that they’re going to be just as useless as the points in the two former incarnations of WLIIA, so I don’t think you have anything to worry about. The points have not and will not ever matter