Comedy Central continues ‘fake news’ growth with Ed Helms special

Comedy Central is exploring the idea of faux news further with a new special this December staring former “Daily Show” correspondent turned movie star, Ed Helms.

“The Fake News with Ted Nelms” airs Wednesday, December 13, and will feature stories that look and sound like actual news, but to the contrary, they’ll be “ridiculous made-up.”

Comedy Central notes the main news anchor will also “closely resemble” Ed Helms.

“It’s 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,” notes a release from the network. “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.”

Interestingly, Amazon is also entering the “fake news” game, casting Will Ferrell and Molly Shannon to provide live coverage of the annual Rose Parade on New Year’s Day, in characters that pay homepage to former Los Angeles TV anchors Bob Eubanks and Stephanie Edwards of KTLA.