It's A New Year And The Naughty Crank Calls Continue With New Episodes Of COMEDY CENTRAL'S "Crank Yankers" Premiering Wednesday, January 12 AT 9 P.M.

Premiere Episode Features Crank Calls From Drew Carey, Tony Barbieri, Jim Florentine, Lisa Kushell Katie & Kevin Kimmel And Jeff Goldblum

NEW YORK, Jan. 3, 2005 -- Your favorite dirty puppets are back for more subversive crank calls with new episodes in the third season of COMEDY CENTRAL's hit series, "Crank Yankers." This weekly perverse phony phone call show, in which actual crank calls become the basis for Yankerville, a twisted town inhabited solely by puppets, debuts on Wednesday, January 12 at 9 p.m. "Crank Yankers" repeats Fridays at 12:30 a.m. and Saturdays at 10 p.m.

"Crank Yankers" features outrageous crank calls made by real comedians to real people, delivered to viewers through puppets. When watching "Crank Yankers," viewers eavesdrop on the puppet citizens of Yankerville as they go about their lives. The relationships and interactions between the puppets are all based on real crank phone calls and the dialogue that was established on these calls.

The premiere episode will include the following calls:

- Actor and comedian Drew Carey, as himself, calls a party store to reserve staff to work and perform unique tasks at his going-off-the-air party, but his requests are too provocative for the staff to perform.

- Toni Barbieri, as "Niles," calls a diaper service to purchase a large amount of soiled diapers. He would like to use them for his version of a "mud bath."

- Jim Florentine, as "Special Ed," calls a video store to ask if they have a few of his favorite movies in stock. The store must remove "The Shining" before he comes in because he's very afraid.

- Comedian Lisa Kushell, as "Cammie," calls a mattress store to find out if she needs a new one. She and her new boyfriend have worn out her old mattress and she's looking for the most durable one available.

- Katie & Kevin Kimmel, as themselves, call to do a quick school survey.

- Comedian Jim Florentine, as "Bobby Fletcher," calls a recording studio to make a voice recording of his kidnapping ransom note, so he won't be recognized.

- Actor, Jeff Goldblum, as "Professor Fermstein" calls a sorority house to schedule a lecture on promiscuity. He promises to take the lecture to its limits and fulfill their every need.

The third season of "Crank Yankers" features puppets voiced by well-known celebrities and stand-up comics including Dave Attell, Adam Carolla, Dave Chappelle, David Cross, Andy Dick, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Bobcat Goldthwait, Gilbert Gottfried, Darrell Hammond, Jimmy Kimmel, Denis Leary, Ludacris, Tracy Morgan, Kevin Nealon, Robert Schimmel, Sarah Silverman and Wanda Sykes. In its first season, "Crank Yankers" premiered as the second highest-rated program on the COMEDY CENTRAL after "South Park."

"Crank Yankers" is executive produced by Daniel Kellison, Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Carolla of Jackhole Industries. Zoe Friedman is the executive in charge for COMEDY CENTRAL.

COMEDY CENTRAL, the only all-comedy network, currently is seen in more than 86 million homes nationwide. COMEDY CENTRAL is owned by Comedy Partners, a wholly-owned division of MTV Networks. COMEDY CENTRAL is a registered trademark of Comedy Partners. COMEDY CENTRAL's Internet address is http://www.comedycentral.com.