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Fusion’s Yannis Pappas to Premiere First Stand-up Special – Airs This Friday on Comedy Central

“The Half Hour with Yannis Pappas” Airs This Friday, June 20 at 12:30 a.m., ET on Comedy Central

Fusion’s Yannis Pappas (@YannisPappas) is set to premiere his first half-hour stand-up special this Friday, June 20 at 12:30 a.m., ET on Comedy Central. The special, which is a part of Comedy Central’s “The Half Hour,” will touch on Yannis’ recent breakup, his move to Miami and how we’ve all become addicted to our cell phones (watch preview).

Pappas co-hosts “Fusion Live” (weeknights at 8:00 p.m., ET) on Fusion along with Mariana Atencio and Pedro Andrade.

A Greek-American born and raised in Brooklyn, Yannis is one of the most exciting comedians working today. In 2010, Yannis was selected as a “New Face” for the prestigious stand-up showcase at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival and appeared in two Just For Laughs TV specials. He has performed one man shows at the New York Comedy Festival and The Fringe in Scotland. He has taken his standup act across the globe from New York and Sweden to Scotland, South Africa and Montreal. He has served as a panelist on VH1’s “Best Week Ever,” was the host of “The Bracket” on MSG and his writing has been featured on Comedy Central, MTV and BET. His recent one-man show at the Zulu Comedy Festival in Denmark received a 5-star review from the national paper there and he was featured on the Danish Television show “Casper & Lars Presents.”  

He is best known for his popular viral internet characters Maurica and Mr. Panos. He constantly tours the U.S. to sold-out crowds who come to see his stand up and characters.

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COSMO GUY: Fusion’s Pedro Andrade Profiled by Cosmo en Espanol

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Pedro Andrade, co-host of “Fusion Live,” was featured by Cosmo en Espanol as their “Cosmo Guy” in the latest issue.  ​Below is a portion of the interview – 

How did you go from being a model to a TV host?

I was always passionate about journalism, and modeling was a platform to obtain that opportunity.  My dream wasn’t to be a top model but to be a journalist. Little by little I started getting opportunities, but it wasn’t from night to day.

Today, you are host at Fusion. How do you feel about being the first Brazilian host in an American show? It is a privilege. Everyday ​I​ am thankful for the opportunity I​ have and wake up with the best attitude to make a show in which I can express my opinion and listen to my​ colleagues​, and at the same time be funny. 

The hosts are a Venezuelan, an American and you, a Brazilian… How is the mix of nationalities? It is a pretty cool chemistry because we are very different from each other. Yannis Pappas is a very fun stand up comedian, born in Brooklyn. Mariana Atencio is from Venezuela and she was a journalist/reporter ​for​ Univision. We are a multicultural fusion​ –​ very unique and humorous. Also, we have a band on the show that plays from Latin music to jazz; a bit of everything. It is amazing. 

What are some of the coolest topics that you have addressed during the show? Once, we talked about the drug cartels and their use in social media in Mexico. We have talked about atheism. The topics are from politics to makeup, fashion, art and even economy. We analyze current issues and we give a different point of view. 

What is the best advice that you have received? The one that I always tell people is “there are no shortcuts, you need to work hard always.” Not only on the professional side, but also with your partner and friends; you need to invest time to demonstrate that you care and you work on every aspect of your life.   

​For the full interview check out the latest issue of Cosmo en Espanol.​

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‘Fusion Live’ Debuts Tonight in Primetime

Pedro Andrade, Mariana Atencio, and Yannis Pappas can say goodbye to their early morning wake-up calls as Fusion’s morning show is moving to its new primetime home with a new name – ‘Fusion Live.’ Fusion CEO wrote of the move in an email to staff last week.

The show’s senior producer Javier Guzman spoke to Capital New York’s Alex Weprin about the new primetime program (@FusionLiveTV) which debuts tonight at 8:00 p.m., ET.

Fusion, the cable news channel owned by ABC News and Univision, is gearing up for the biggest change to its lineup since it launched in October of last year. One of the biggest tweaks is that the channel’s morning show, cheekily dubbed “The Morning Show,” will be moving to primetime at 8 p.m. starting tonight. And it’s getting a new name: “Fusion Live.”

“We kind of see it as a Tumblr page coming to life,” Javier Guzman, the executive producer of the show, told Capital. “On that Tumblr page you will have some serious news, you will have something funny, a short video that is funny, and our audience is OK with that, that is how they digest their media in normal circumstances, so we are trying to marry that on the show.”

Guzman also talked about building out the “Insignificant Breaking News” brand – 

Some of the content originated serendipitously. “Insignificant Breaking News” was the headline on “The Morning Show” when pop star Justin Bieber was arrested in Miami in late January on suspicion of D.U.I. Screenshots of the show and video clips from its coverage spread around Twitter, Facebook and Reddit like wildfire.

“With ‘Insignificant Breaking News,’ that stems from the conversation that was going on in the control room between myself, and the director, and the talent, and we said, you know what, 'let’s do this, why are we talking about this? This is our voice as a show,'” Guzman recalled. “We are exploring ways to take that concept and build it out. It is going to be a regular feature on the primetime show, we are seeing what it looks like as a recurring segment, using that kind of coverage as a model for when stories like that fit the bill, covering it from that perspective and that tone.”

Check out the full story over at Capital New York.

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Snap Out of Your Morning Routine with “The Morning Show” on Fusion

Globo Jounalist Pedro Andrade, Univision Reporter Mariana Atencio and Comedian Yannis Pappas to Host Morning Program Weekdays 7:00-9:00 a.m. ET

Fusion – the news, pop-culture and satire TV and digital network from ABC and Univision launching October 28 – today announced its daily morning program “The Morning Show” hosted by Globo journalist Pedro Andrade, Univision reporter Mariana Atencio and comedian Yannis Pappas.  

Starting Tuesday, October 29, the weekday two-hour broadcast (7:00-9:00 a.m., ET) will join Fusion’s programming lineup that will engage and champion a young and diverse America with a unique mix of original reporting, lifestyle content and comedy programming. 

"The Morning Show” on Fusion will be filled with smart, edgy, funny and compelling stories. The audience will become a part of a free-flowing conversation that is high-energy and informative. The program will be a venue for newsmakers – from politicians and entrepreneurs to celebrities and entertainers – to reach the youngest, most diverse, and fastest growing audience in America. Pedro, Mariana and Yannis will also blend humor and analysis to tackle topics ranging from how the definition of the American Dream is changing for young Americans to asking questions like “is it possible to copyright a tattoo?’” or “what is the best year in music history?" 

"With a diverse set of hosts and a bold, irreverent voice unique to Fusion, we’ll create a new, entertaining and engaging morning routine for our audience,” said Isaac Lee, CEO of Fusion. “Our viewers sleep with their smart phones by their side because they never want to miss a beat. ‘The Morning Show’ will feed that appetite on-air and online by sparking lively conversations around the latest trending topics and delivering compelling stories infused with humor.”

Viewers can join in on all the conversations by following the hashtag #FusionMorning.  You can follow Fusion on Twitter @ThisIsFusion and on Facebook at facebook.com/FusionNetwork.

Pedro Andrade (@pedroandradetv) is a Brazilian journalist originally from Rio de Janeiro. He currently anchors one of the most popular shows in Brazil, “Manhattan Connection,” which reaches nearly 8.5 million viewers weekly. He will continue to contribute to that program from Miami. Prior to that he spent five years guiding viewers through the newest and most exclusive destinations in food, nightlife, art, shopping, fashion, and wellness as anchor of Brazil’s Emmy-award winning lifestyle program “LX.TV 1st Look.” Pedro was chosen by NY Press as the “Best Up and Coming TV Host” in 2010, and he is listed on VH1’s “Guide to the Hottest Men in Manhattan.” Later this year, Pedro will be publishing a guide to New York through ROCCO, one of the biggest publishing companies in Latin America.

Mariana Atencio (@marianaatencio) joins Fusion from Univision News, where she was the youngest correspondent for “Noticiero Univision.” As a reporter for Univision’s Investigative and Documentary Units, Mariana received both a Peabody Award and an Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) Award for her work on the one-hour documentary “Fast and Furious: Arming the Enemy.” She has covered major domestic and international stories including the death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez in 2013 and the 2012 U.S. presidential election – where she reported from both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. She also co-anchored election analysis for “Despierta América,“ Univision’s highly rated morning show. Prior to joining Univision, Mariana worked as a news anchor for Vme-TV, a Spanish broadcast public television station for the U.S. Hispanic market. She has a Master’s degree from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism where she received a full-merit scholarship. 

Yannis Pappas (@yannispappas), a Greek-American born and raised in Brooklyn, is one of the most exciting comedians working today. In 2010, Yannis was selected as a "New Face” for the prestigious stand-up showcase at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival and appeared in two Just For Laughs TV specials. He has performed one man shows at the New York Comedy Festival and The Fringe in Scotland. He has taken his standup act across the globe from New York and Sweden to Scotland, South Africa and Montreal. He has served as a panelist on VH1’s “Best Week Ever,” was the host of “The Bracket” on MSG and his writing has been featured on Comedy Central, MTV and BET. His recent one-man show at the Zulu Comedy Festival in Denmark received a 5-star review from the national paper there and he was featured on the Danish Television show “Casper & Lars Presents.”  He is best known for his popular viral internet characters Maurica and Mr. Panos. He constantly tours the US to sold-out crowds who come to see his stand up and characters.

Javier Guzman will be producing “The Morning Show.” He joins Fusion from WNYC where he was a producer on NPR’s “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered” – two of the most listened-to news radio programs in the country. Prior to that Javier worked for the daily, national morning show “The Takeaway.”  In addition, while working at CBS News Radio he produced coverage of events ranging from presidential elections and the war in Iraq to continuing coverage of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. 

WATCH: Fusion Anchor Derrick Ashong Takes You Inside the Network’s Miami Headquarters

Fusion will kick off its on-air programming on Monday, October 28. Its digital property – www.fusion.net – will launch Oct. 21.  Fusion will announce additional programming and talent deals leading up to launch.

About Fusion
Fusion is a news, pop culture and satire TV and digital network. It will engage and champion a young, diverse, and inclusive America with a unique mix of smart and irreverent original reporting, lifestyle content and comedy programming.  Fusion will launch in millions of households nationwide on October 28 as six major distributors have already agreed to carry the cable network including Cablevision, Charter, Cox, AT&T U-Verse, Verizon FiOS and Google Fiber. You can follow the team online at @ThisIsFusion.  Fusion is a joint venture between Univision Communications Inc. and the Disney/ABC Television Network that was announced on May 7, 2012.