Pickleball Goes Primetime on CBS Courtesy of Stephen Colbert, Funny or Die

Celebrities will battle it out on the pickleball court in a new two-hour special from CBS called “Pickled.”

The “comedic tournament” hails from Stephen Colbert’s Spartina, Funny or Die and CBS Studios and will air later this year as a two-hour special event on CBS while also streaming live and on demand on Paramount+.

Pickleball is a sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton and table tennis, and finds players using paddles to bat a wiffle-like ball over a net. While invented in the 1960s, it’s gained renewed popularity over the last few years.

The “Pickled” special will curate the best all-star competitive teams to play against each other for charity, with names to be announced at a later date.

“I love hosting ‘The Late Show,’ but at the end of the day – and I’m specifically talking about the hours between 8 and 10 p.m. ET – I see ‘Pickled’ as a chance to bring lots of different people together for something playful and unpredictable,” Colbert said in a statement. “And since the supply chain snarl has delayed delivery of my Margaritaville Frozen Drink Machine, I find myself with some free time. I’m honored to be a part of the ‘Pickled’ family.”

“Funny Or Die is thrilled to partner with our friends at Spartina and CBS Studios on ‘Pickled,’” Mike Farah, CEO of Funny Or Die, said in a statement. “We can’t wait to bring together celebrities from the worlds of comedy, sports and beyond, to play in the highest-stakes and lowest-impact pickleball tournament ever created for television. This idea was inspired by playing pickleball with my mom back in Michigan, and she has lots of ideas for this show. Is this an appropriate forum to let Stephen know my mom wants to be showrunner?”

“Pickled” is produced by Funny Or Die in association with Spartina and CBS Studios. Executive producers are Funny Or Die’s Farah, Joe Farrell and Henry R. Muñoz III and Spartina’s Colbert, Carrie Byalick, Evelyn McGee Colbert and Tom Purcell.