Comedy Central to debut new special: ‘The Fake News with Ted Nelms’

Comedy Central announced on Tuesday it will be taking on cable news and contemporary politics in a new satirical one-hour special premiering next month. 

“The Fake News with Ted Nelms,” which premieres on Dec. 13, will consist of humorous fake news segments hosted by a fictional anchor played by Ed Helms, an alum of “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.”

{mosads}

According to a press release, it will be a “fast-paced one-hour special that looks like CNN with the volume off, but with the volume on is a constant stream of jokes delivered with such extreme deadpan gravitas it’ll ruin viewers capacity to watch the real news ever again without laughing.”

“Led by Helms as Nelms, the special skewers the way news is delivered by emptying out the format and refilling it with insanity, silliness, and absolutely no factual content,” the press release says.

Cable news organizations, in particular CNN, have been a favorite target of President Trump, who routinely decries their reporting as “fake news.” 

In October, Trump bragged about coining the term, telling Fox Business Network’s Lou Dobbs in an interview that he “really started this whole fake news thing.”

Helms for his part said he is “thrilled” to return to the network following his stint on “The Daily Show.” 

“Obviously there are a lot of news organizations out there just making up a bunch of crap and calling it news,” Helms said in a statement. “But unlike those others, we’re doing it better, faker, and stupider. And we’re joking.”