FOX has picked up SHOWTIME AT THE APOLLO as a one-hour weekly series, featuring Emmy Award-winning personality Steve Harvey as host. Set to debut during the 2017-2018 season, SHOWTIME AT THE APOLLO is a reimagining of the classic talent showcase series.

“We all had such a blast on the two specials that aired earlier this season, that we thought it really deserved being a weekly event,” said Harvey. “But our mission is a little different this time around. Instead of just putting on a great show, we’re going to do that and find the next great comic and the next big music star. That’s what the Apollo is all about. My roots are on that stage and I can’t wait to be there every week, looking for great talent. Who said you can’t go back home again?”

Featured in the series are elements from the Apollo’s legendary Amateur Night – the long-running, live talent competition, now in its 82^nd year – which provides a platform for up-and-coming artists to perform in front of the toughest audience in the world. The Apollo audience is famed as one of entertainment’s most boisterous and brutally honest, and those amateurs who don’t win them over must endure the wrath of this notorious crowd.  

The Apollo Theater launched the careers of many iconic artists, including James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Lauryn Hill, Michael Jackson and The Jackson Five, D’Angelo and countless others. Its venerable stage show, Amateur Night at the Apollo, has long been revered by artists as a transformative experience during which up-and-coming talent feel the power of the legendary performers who have come before them, while audience response can help make or break a career.

In each episode, Harvey will be joined by some of the biggest stars in comedy and music. Artists featured in the two SHOWTIME AT THE APOLLO specials that aired earlier this season on FOX include John Legend, Ashanti, Ja Rule, Busta Rhymes, Doug E. Fresh, Chaka Khan, Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals, Flo Rida, Rakim, T.I. featuring Meek Mill, Quavo and RaRa, Bell Biv Devoe, En Vogue and Jodeci; and comedians Anthony Anderson, Chris Rock, Tracy Morgan, George Lopez, Jay Pharoah, Mike Epps and Gabriel Iglesias.

About the Apollo Theater

The legendary Apollo Theater – the soul of American culture – plays a vital role in cultivating emerging talents and launching legends. Since its founding, the Apollo has served as a center of innovation and a creative catalyst for Harlem, the city of New York and the world. With music at its core, the Apollo’s programming extends to dance, theater, performance art, spoken word initiatives and more. This includes the October 2014 premiere and 2015 international tour of the dance celebration project “James Brown: Get on the Good Foot”; the annual Africa Now! Festival; Apollo Club Harlem; and the 2016 New York premiere of the opera “Charlie Parker’s YARDBIRD.” The Apollo is a presenting organization that also produces festivals, large-scale dance and music works organized around a set of core initiatives: Apollo Music Signature Programs – Amateur Night, Salon Series and Apollo Music Café; Legacy Series – work that celebrates and extends

-more-

“SHOWTIME AT THE APOLLO” SERIES– Page 2

the Apollo’s legacy through a contemporary lens; Global Festivals, including the Women of the World (WOW) Festival and Breakin’ Convention; international and U.S.-based artist presentations focused on a specific theme; and Special Projects – multidisciplinary work with partner organizations. Since introducing the first Amateur Night contests in 1934, the Apollo Theater has served as a testing ground for new artists working across a variety of art forms, and has ushered in the emergence of many new musical genres – including jazz, swing, bebop, R&B, gospel, blues, soul, and hip hop. Among the countless legendary performers who launched their careers at the Apollo are D’Angelo, Lauryn Hill, Machine Gun Kelly, Miri Ben Ari, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, James Brown, Michael Jackson, Gladys Knight, Luther Vandross and Stevie Wonder; and the Apollo’s forward-looking artistic vision continues to build on this legacy. The Apollo Theater is a not-for-profit organization with the mission to extend the institution’s role in fostering artistic innovation and in building appreciation of American culture around the world. For more information, visit www.apollotheater.org.

SHOWTIME AT THE APOLLO will be executive-produced by Jim Roush and Chris Wagner for the Roush-Wagner Company. Reginald Hudlin and James McKinlay also will executive-produce and serve as showrunners. Don Weiner will executive-produce and direct the series. Jonelle Procope will serve as an executive producer for the Apollo Theater and Michael Antinoro will serve as an executive producer for IMG. “Like” the series on Facebook at facebook.com/FOXTV and facebook.com/ApolloTheater. Follow the special @FOXTV and @ApolloTheater.

-FOX-