Russell Brand gets late night comedy show

LOS ANGELES — Irreverent British comedian Russell Brand has signed up for a new late night TV comedy show on the FX network, starting later this year, FX said on Monday.

The brash "Get Him to the Greek" star, who last month split with singer Katy Perry after 14 months of marriage, will give U.S. audiences his take on politics, news and pop culture in a six episode show shot before a live audience.

The as yet untitled venture is Brand's foray into U.S. television following movie roles in Hollywood comedies "Arthur" and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall."

Brand, 36, began his career as a stand-up comic in Britain and went on to prove a lively if controversial voice on British radio and television.

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He hosted a short-lived UK talk show in 2006 and was forced to resign as a BBC radio host in 2008 after making lewd, prank phone calls.

"We're very excited to add Russell Brand's bracingly funny, original, and honest voice to the FX comedy line-up," Nick Grad, original programming chief at FX, said in a statement.

Grad said the show aimed to "strip down the hosted comedy format to its most fundamental elements and to create something daring and unfiltered for the FX audience."

FX, the cable TV arm of Fox television, said the 30-minute show would draw heavily on audience interaction.

Brand, a self-confessed former sex, drug and alcohol addict, said he was "excited" about the new venture.

Brand in December filed for divorce from "Teenage Dream" singer Perry, citing irreconcilable differences. The pair married in October 2010 in a lavish wedding in India.