Abso Lutely Productions receives new investments and brings the high-quality civilian brigade under one roof

EXCLUSIVE: Tim Heidecker, Eric Wareheim and Dave Kneebone’s Abso Lutely Productions have secured investments for new comedy projects and their first step is to join Upright Citizens Brigade under the same parent company. The move brings together two of comedy’s most groundbreaking and respected names to generate projects and nurture new creative voices.

In addition to further collaboration with UCB, Abso – home of Tim and Eric Great show, good job!, Nathan For You, The Eric Andre Show – will continue to produce adventure comedies for television and film. While the companies operate independently, their shared focus is on building a development pipeline that combines UCB’s talent pool and track record of developing successful IP with Abso’s creator-driven development process and production experience.

UCB stages have fueled projects like Broadway Gutenberg! The musical! and the A24 film Dick’s: The Musical which started in Toronto. Abso’s partnership with UCB aims to streamline and support this type of organic development. In one of their first collaborative efforts, Abso will support the existing UCB Theater in Los Angeles and a new space under construction on 14th Street in New York to expand video capabilities.

This enables UCB to stream shows directly to comedy lovers around the world and also offers a wide range of digital engagement opportunities for talent and audiences. Abso’s most recent and current projects include the HBO Special John Early: Now more than evera film project by Oobah Butler and various scripted and unscripted comedy productions.

Abso’s Dave Kneebone said: “At Abso we’ve had the honor of working with some of the most ground-breaking comedians of our time. Our goal in partnering with UCB is to expand that story and strengthen our ability to be the ultimate comedy incubator – giving all types of funny people a home to amplify their brilliance across media and platforms, can give free rein to their madness.”

Abso’s new additional owners include UCB boss Mike McAvoy (formerly of The Onion) and Jimmy Miller (founder of Mozaïek Media Group), in addition to financial backing from Elysian Park Ventures. The strategic relationship between UCB and Abso is the beginning of an extensive comedy ecosystem designed as a comedy tent.

“Over the years, we’ve all been impressed with what Abso Lutely has achieved as an independent production company that continues to push the boundaries of innovative and unique comedy,” said Miller. “When we wanted to expand our capabilities with UCB, Abso was the first company we considered working with. We look forward to what we can achieve together and what new talent we can discover and promote.” This creative community, the Comedy Tent, is intended to be a development center for all things comedy related. The goal is to provide talent with all the tools they need to become the next generation of voices, multi-hyphenates and artists.