Comedy During the station's early days, the screenings of innovative short one-off comedy films produced by a rotating line-up of alternative comedians went under the title of The Comic Strip Presents. The Optimist was the world's first dialogue-free television comedy, and one of the channel's earliest commissioned programs. The Tube and Saturday Live/Friday Night Live also launched the careers of a number of comedians and writers. Channel 4 broadcast a number of popular American imports, including Cheers, The Cosby Show, Roseanne, Home Improvement, Friends, Sex and the City, Everybody Loves Raymond, South Park, Family Guy, Futurama, Frasier, Scrubs, and Will & Grace. Other significant US acquisitions include The Simpsons, for which the station was reported to have paid £700,000 per episode for the terrestrial television rights back in 2004, and continues to air on the channel daily.
Comedy During the station's early days, the screenings of innovative short one-off comedy films produced by a rotating line-up of al:ternative comedians went under the title of The Comic Strip Presents. The Optimist was the world's first dialogue-free television comedy, and one of the channel's earliest commissioned programs. The Tube and Satu,rday Live/Friday Night Live also launched the careers of a number of comedians and writers. Channel 4 broadcast a number of: popular American imports, including Cheers, The Cosby Show, Roseanne, Home Improvement, Friends, Sex and the City, Everybody Loves Raymond, South Park, Family Guy, Futurama, Frasier, Scrubs, and Will & Grace. Ot:her significant US acquisitions include The Simpsons, for which the station was reporte.d to have paid £700,000 per episode for the terrestrial television rights back in 2004, and continues to air on the channel daily.