Most of the Comedy Channel's original programs were produced in the HBO Downtown Studios at 120 East 23rd Street in Manhattan.

[citation needed] The format prior to the merger included several original and unconventional programs such as Onion World with Rich Hall and Mystery Science Theater 3000, as well as laid-back variety/talk shows hosted by stand-up comedians, including The Sweet Life with Rachel Sweet; Tommy Sledge, Private Eye; Alan King: Inside the Comedy Mind; Night After Night with Allan Havey; Sports Monster; and The Higgins Boys and Gruber, the latter of whom performed sketches in between showings of vintage television serials Supercar, Clutch Cargo, and Bob and Ray.

The standard format for these shows usually involved the various hosts introducing clips culled from the acts of stand-up comedians as well as classic comedies of the 1970s and 1980s, such as Young Frankenstein and Kentucky Fried Movie, presented in a style similar to music videos.

In 1990, hosts Jon Stewart and Patty Rosborough were introduced under this title, and the show became one of the few that survived the network merger into CTV.

In the final months before the merger, the channel developed an eight-hour programming block that was shown three times during a 24-hour period, which included reruns of Monty Python's Flying Circus.