PRESS RELEASE:

An article years ago in the New Yorker demeaned Chicago as "the second city" -- meaning second tier, second place, second-rate. It gave the founders of the continent's improvisational holy grail -- Second City -- both a name and, fittingly, the last laugh. There is nothing second-rate about Second City, the sire of dozens of comedic and acting legends. And a program airing on KUED-Channel 7 Saturday, March 17, at 7 p.m. makes that abundantly clear. “Second City: First Family of Comedy” takes you inside the various permutations of the comedy troupe, from club to theater to television to film, and from Chicago to Toronto to Edmonton and beyond. "Second City: First Family of Comedy" is a grand tour, narrated in three installments by Dave Thomas, Scott Thompson and Pittsburgh native Joe Flaherty, who made Count Floyd and Guy Caballero indelible characters. There is rare footage of the troupe's earliest performances, with the incredible Mike Nichols, Elaine May, Alan Arkin and others. But some of the best moments are reminiscences from Dan Aykroyd, Mike Myers, Catherine O'Hara and Martin Short. We're reminded of the genius of the late John Belushi, Gilda Radner and, most particularly, John Candy, whose mere presence makes you yearn for Johnny LaRue and the Mellonville gang that made "SCTV" the funniest sketch comedy in the history of television. And, yes, that includes "Your Show of Shows" and "SNL." “This is, simply put, your chance to enroll in what Second City alums call the college of comedy,” says Scott Chaffin, KUED Broadcasting Director.. “The art of improv, the four decades of talent, the inside stories, the belly laughs ... it's all first-rate.” "Second City: First Family of Comedy" airs on KUED-Channel 7 Saturday, March 17, at 7 p.m.