Logo Announces Guest Panelists For "NewNowNext Vote With Wanda Sykes" Election Specials

NEW YORK, Sept. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Logo, today announced the list of panelists joining host Wanda Sykes for the first of two previously announced  "NewNowNext Vote with Wanda Sykes" election specials for the network.  Representing both sides of the political spectrum, Wanda's guests will educate, enlighten and entertain viewers while shining a spotlight on the state of national politics through an LGBT lens.  The first of two, one-hour specials will air four days after the Democratic National Convention, Monday, September 10^th at 10PM ET/PT followed by the second special on election-eve, Monday, November 5^th 10:30PM ET/PT on Logo.

The panelists for the first special (airing Monday, September 10^th at 10PM ET/PT) include:

Barney Frank, Congressman and former Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee
Jimmy LaSalvia, Co-founder and Executive Director of GoProud
Thomas Roberts, News Anchor, MSNBC
Hilary Rosen, American lobbyist and Democratic pundit
Rick Shenkman, Historian
Joe Solmonese, Co-chair of Obama 2012 Campaign
Additional Panelists, TBA

The "NewNowNext Vote with Wanda Sykes" specials will touch on hot topics for the LGBT voter including; gay marriage, Supreme Court appointments, the economy and healthcare.  Added to the mix will be of-the-moment commentary sparked by the trending news from the campaign trail.

Wanda Sykes has been called "one of the funniest stand-up comics" by her peers and ranks among Entertainment Weekly's "25 Funniest People in America."  Her smart-witted stand up has sent her career in many different areas.

Sykes was previously seen on several television shows over the past two years.  Last year she made a return to HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" starring opposite Larry David.  In 2010 she starred on her own late night talk show on FOX, "The Wanda Sykes Show".  In October of 2009 her second HBO stand up special "I'ma Be Me" premiered.  It was taped at the Warner theatre in Washington DC where she tackled topics like the first black president, gay cruises, being a new mom and aging.  The special was nominated for two 2010 Primetime Emmy awards: Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special and Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Special.  

Her first HBO comedy special "Wanda Sykes; Sick and Tired" debuted in October 2006 and was nominated for a 2007 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special.  It was taped in Seattle Washington and covered everything from racial profiling to gay marriage.

She spent 5 years as part of the HBO's critically acclaimed "Chris Rock Show." As a performer and writer on the show, she was nominated for three Primetime Emmy's and in 1999 won the Emmy for "Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Special."  In 2001, she won the American Comedy Award for "Outstanding Female Stand Up Comic".  She won three more Emmy's, in 2002, 2004 and 2005, for her work on "Inside the NFL" for "Outstanding Studio Show - Weekly- Inside The NFL".

In 2010 she won a GLAAD award for promoting a good image of equal rights for gays and lesbians.

The "NewNowNext Vote with Wanda Sykes" specials are executive produced by Mark Consuelos and Albert Bianchini for Milojo Productions and Wanda Sykes for Sykes Entertainment.  Additionally, Liz Stanton serves as executive producer.  Brent Zacky and Christopher Willey serve as executive producers for Logo.

For more information on "NewNowNext Vote" go to NewNowNext.com. Join the NewNowNext.com Facebook page and follow the specials on Twitter @LogoTV and #NNNVote for up-to-date news and exclusives.

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ABOUT LOGO
Logo celebrates one-of-a-kind personalities, unconventional stories and discovering what's next—all through a mix of original and acquired entertainment that's outrageous, smart and inclusive.  Entertaining a social, savvy audience of gay trendsetters, Logo also attracts a straight audience that wants to be ahead of the curve.  Launched in 2005, Logo is in over 51 million homes across the United States, and is complemented by a federation of online properties, including LogoTV.com, NewNowNext.com, AfterEllen.com, AfterElton.com, and DowneLink.com.  Logo is part of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), which features a roster of popular and highly targeted brands that include MTV, Comedy Central, VH1 and Spike TV.

ABOUT MILOJO PRODUCTIONS
Milojo Productions is Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos' SoHo based production company.  It began with the Emmy-nominated feature documentary "The Streak" for ESPN, which told the compelling story of a Florida high school wrestling team with an extraordinary 34-year winning streak.  It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2008.  In addition, Milojo had a first-look development deal with TLC and Discovery, and premiered the docu-series "Masters of Reception" in 2009.  Following that, the company launched a country-wide search for female inventors and premiered "Homemade Millionaire" on TLC fall 2010, hosted by Ripa.  They were also thrilled to announce that their recent film "Off the Rez," with filmmaker Jonathan Hock, was accepted to the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival.  That project aired on TLC later that year.  Milojo also recently produced a pilot for Lifetime and is currently producing an exciting new documentary series for CMT entitled "Cheer" which premieres Friday, Sept. 7th on CMT.  They have other non-scripted projects in production and development.  Milojo recently sold a scripted project to ABC entitled "Port Love" and is developing more in the scripted arena.  The company also recently premiered its first short film, a collaboration with Will Ferrell's company Funny or Die entitled "The Bensonhurst Spelling Bee."

SOURCE Logo