Stephen Colbert’s Spartina, Funny Or Die and CBS Studios Team Up for “Pickled,” a New Entertainment Special About Pickleball, the Hottest New Sport Reaching Worldwide Domination, to Air Later This Year on CBS

CBS announced today PICKLED, a new comedic, celebrity-packed pickleball tournament from Stephen Colbert’s Spartina, Funny Or Die and CBS Studios, to air later this year as a two-hour special event on the CBS Television Network and stream live and on demand on Paramount+*.

As the New York Times states, “pickleball is ready for primetime.” The buzziest new sport in a generation is a classic American cocktail – mix one part tennis, a splash of badminton, muddle in some ping pong, toss a couple of ibuprofens in there just in case, and add a heaping scoop of passion. Shake vigorously, then pour yourself a tall glass of FUN. In the special, PICKLED will curate the best all-star competitive teams to play against each other in the name of charity, and ultimately vie for the coveted totem of excellence: the Golden Gherkin. Additional details about the special and celebrity competitors will be announced at a later date.

“I love hosting THE LATE SHOW, but at the end of the day – and I’m specifically talking about the hours between 8 and 10 PM Eastern – I see PICKLED as a chance to bring lots of different people together for something playful and unpredictable,” said Colbert. “And since the supply chain snarl has delayed delivery of my Margaritaville™ Frozen Drink Machine, I find myself with some free time. I’m honored to be a part of the PICKLED family.”

“Funny Or Die is thrilled to partner with our friends at Spartina and CBS Studios on PICKLED,” said Mike Farah, CEO of Funny Or Die. “We can’t wait to bring together celebrities from the worlds of comedy, sports and beyond, to play in the highest-stakes and lowest-impact pickleball tournament ever created for television. This idea was inspired by playing pickleball with my mom back in Michigan, and she has LOTS of ideas for this show. Is this an appropriate forum to let Stephen know my mom wants to be showrunner?”

PICKLED is produced by Funny Or Die in association with Spartina and CBS Studios. Executive producers are Funny Or Die’s Mike Farah, Joe Farrell and Henry R. Muñoz III and Spartina's Stephen Colbert, Carrie Byalick, Evelyn McGee Colbert and Tom Purcell.

About Spartina

Founded by Stephen Colbert, Spartina is a production company with a first-look deal at CBS Studios. Spartina has produced several projects including Paramount+’s Tooning Out The News, Hulu’s Derek Delgaudio’s In & Of Itself, and Comedy Central’s Tha’ God’s Honest Truth with Lenard “Charlamagne” McKelvey. Spartina is on a mission to make the world a little bit better through content that brings people joy.

About Funny Or Die (FOD)

Funny Or Die (FOD) is a premiere entertainment brand and independent comedy studio that creates award-winning premium content with today's biggest stars and tomorrow's exciting voices.  Funny Or Die reaches a global audience of more than 40 million people across all our social platforms.  The company has produced the critically acclaimed Brockmire for IFC, Emmy nominated Billy on the Street, the Peabody award-winning American Vandal for Netflix, the Emmy nominated Sarah Silverman series I Love You, America for Hulu, and the feature films, Between Two Ferns: The Movie for Netflix, and Impractical Jokers: The Movie for Warner Media. Funny Or Die is in production in WEIRD: The ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic Story for Roku, and Players for Paramount +. Funny Or Die was founded in 2007, with Will Farrell, Adam McKay and Chris Henchy's infamous "The Landlord" video and has since become a comedy juggernaut.  In May 2021, it was announced that Funny or Die had been acquired by  Henry R. Muñoz III, a nationally respected business leader, philanthropist and activist, known for creating movements that inspire massive change in American institutions, where he works at the intersection of design, politics and cultural empowerment.

About CBS Studios

CBS Studios is one of the industry’s leading suppliers of programming with more than 70 series currently in production across broadcast and cable networks, streaming services and other emerging platforms. The Studio’s expansive portfolio spans a diverse slate of commercially successful and critically acclaimed scripted programming, genre-defining franchises including the ever-growing “Star Trek” universe, award-winning late night and daytime talk shows, and an extensive library of iconic intellectual property.

*Paramount+ Premium subscribers will have access to stream live via the live feed of their local CBS affiliate on the service as well as on demand. Essential-tier subscribers will have access to on-demand the day after the special airs.

CBS Twitter: https://twitter.com/cbs

CBS PR Twitter: https://twitter.com/CBSTweet

RATING: To Be Announced

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CBS Press Contacts:

Renata Luczak - renata.luczak@viacomcbs.com

Kate Fisher - khfisher@cbs.com

Funny Or Die Press Contact:

Carolyn Prousky - carolyn@funnyordie.com