“Just For Laughs Festival” announces lineup for its first online festival

2020 has been anything but predictable. And since more and more festivals have been opting to host online virtual festivals, Just For Laughs, arguably the most prestigious as far as comedy festivals go, is no exception. Earlier this summer, we announced their plans to move everything online. And now, we finally have some more information.

Between October 9th and 10th, JFL will host over 100 comedians. This year, Kevin Hart and his LOL comedy network have partnered with the festival to curate their own lineup within the festival titled Comedy in Color, featuring live stand-up performances, podcast tapings, and various panels.

Just some of the comedians/various panels at the festival include Hannah Gadsby, Howie Mandel, Jo Koy, Kenya Barris, Sarah Cooper, Amber Ruffin, Titus Burgess, Nicole Bayer, Trixie Mattel, Deanne Smith, Jenny Hagel, Andy Kindler, Crave’s Canada’s Drag Race, CBS All Access’ Tooning out the News, Variety’s 10 Comics to Watch, and New Faces: Creators.

“As a leader in the global comedy industry, but also as a true digital comedy pioneer, we are very proud to offer this special edition in an optimized free edition format, enabling us to do what we do best, curating and creating the best of comedy, while making it more accessible than ever, to all fans across the globe”, Charles Décarie, President and CEO of the Just for Laughs Group, said in a statement. “We are truly able to deliver a Festival that lives up to Just for Laughs standards. Our spectators will be thrilled to safely reunite with their favorite artists – Rest assured that we will be back in a big way in 2021 with exciting plans for the comedy fans and industry who travel to join us every Summer”.

“Our goal with the Just For Laughs Festival is to really engage with the global comedy community, and have some important discussions regarding big societal issues in a way that’s still entertaining, with comedic relief provided by some of today’s brightest comedy stars”, shared Bruce Hills, President of Just For Laughs. “I could not be more honoured that Kevin Hart’s LOL is our official programming partner, working alongside our talented programming team, to offer the best possible, first-ever, 100% digital comedy festival.”

“Just For Laughs is an unparalleled comedic institution and we are delighted to expand our relationship with the festival and usher in an exciting new phase for our experiential division LOL X!,” said Jeff Clanagan, President of Laugh Out Loud. “Just For Laughs is the perfect partner to shine a spotlight on the emerging, diverse voices that are shaping the future of our Comedy In Color franchise and we look forward to unveiling more in the coming weeks.”

Next year, we certainly do hope we can all be back in Montreal again in July. But for this year, we have to make due with what we’ve got, and still be able to enjoy some great comedy. Find out more about the virtual festival here.

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