Sure, it may feel like it's coming several months too late and it may continue Comedy Central's tradition of mostly roasting "ironic" celebrities (William Shatner, David Hasselhoff, Donald Trump), but at least my eyes don't glaze over with boredom at the very thought: the network announced today that it will tape and broadcast the roast of former Two and a Half Men star Charlie Sheen this September.

What this means for the previously announced roast of Kid Rock I really can't say, but I suspect it's going to be put off or not happen at all. Comedy Central is probably right in thinking that if they don't roast Sheen sooner rather than later, any remaining interest on the part of the viewers will have disappeared.

Also, I suspect one of the reasons that Sheen agreed to be roasted (besides the opportunity to be talked about on television, his new favorite pastime) is that -- in an unusually aggressive "F U" move -- the network has scheduled the roast to premiere on the same night that CBS will air the season premiere of the newly-revamped Two and a Half Men, now with Ashton Kutcher filling in for Sheen.

No guests have been announced yet, though I'm guessing regular Comedy Central roasters like Jeffrey Ross and Whitney Cummings will be participating. If nothing else, I have to believe that the Sheen roast will be worth tuning in for just to see what Sheen says. He actually does have comic timing and isn't totally lacking in self-awareness, so if can get some good writers and agrees to do actual jokes instead of extended tirades of gibberish (which are almost guaranteed, as that's what he's become famous for and is what the "fans" will want), he could come off really well. No one else needs to work very hard to write jokes: drugs, prostitutes, career suicide, blah blah blah.

I'm at least interested in how this will all play out, and I haven't been able to say that about a Comedy Central roast in some time.

The Comedy Central Roast of Charlie Sheen will premiere Monday, September 19 at 9 p.m. CST.

Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Happy Independence Day, everyone. I'm guessing the holiday week is keeping things kind of slow on the new comedy release front, so this week we only get a pair of stand-up showcase DVDs once again from LOL Comedy, a company that's really cranking these things out. Most focus on a single them, like "Middle East Comedy" or "Gay/Lesbian Comedy" or "People Who Are Friends with Pauly Shore." Enjoy!

DVD

• Bridging the Gap: Middle East Comedy Talks
• Pauly Shore and Friends (featuring Pauly Shore, Sammy Shore, Iliza Schlesinger and more)

© LOL Comedy

Fans of comedian Jo Koy's appearances on friend Chelsea Handler's  late night series Chelsea Lately won't be seeing him on NBC's upcoming sitcom based on her memoir, Are You There, Vodka? It's Me Chelsea.

Michael Ausiello at TV Line is reporting that Koy has been fired from the upcoming series, scheduled to premiere at midseason on NBC, for "creative reasons." He's one of three supporting players that have been let go, alongside Natalie Morales and Angel Laketa Moore.

Those characters are currently being "reconceived," Ausiello reports, which means that either the producers or the network are insisting on a whole lot of retooling with the series. The change leaves the actual comedians in the cast of a show about a comedian to roughly one and a half: Lenny Clark remains in the cast as Handler's father, and Handler herself will appear on the show in a recurring role as her own sister.

That's a bummer for Koy, who likely would have gotten a career bump from the show. Of course, if it wasn't working enough that the whole thing has to be rejiggered before it airs, maybe it's better that he isn't appearing on a show that's a mess. I have to wonder if this will have any effect on his relationship with Handler, though, and whether or not he'll continue to regularly appear on Chelsea Lately. I would have to watch that show to get the answer, and that might be a sacrifice I'm not willing to make.

Photo by Barry Brecheisen/Getty Images

Christopher Titus' last album, 2009's Love is Evol, felt ripped from the comedians' insides. It was angry, painful and incredibly painful, focusing mostly on the crumbling of Titus' marriage and the havoc that divorce and bad relationships can wreak on people. It's the kind of record a comedian can only make once, so it makes sense that for his new album (and accompanying stand-up special on Comedy Central), Neverlution, Titus has completely widened his scope. Instead of being intensely personal, the latest record turns its gaze on everyone and everything else -- it's about almost anything but Titus. If each of his albums -- which are really more like one-man shows, in a way -- has a theme (Norman Rockwell is Bleeding dealt with his dark and tragic family history, Love is Evol is about dying relationships), then Neverlution will likely come to be known as Titus' "political" album. Though he's touched on the subject before, Titus has never worked almost exclusively political. It's a tough arena to jump all the way into, and the difficulty of navigating those waters rears its head sometimes on the often funny but too-uneven album...(continue reading Neverlution review)

© Comedy Central Records