A Comedy of Riches
Gone are the days when Comedy Central’s programming primarily consisted of repeats of such traditional fare as “The Jack Benny Show,” “You Bet Your Life,” “The Steve Allen Show” and “McHale’s Navy.”
In fact, Benny would probably blush at the controversial, satirical and sometimes less than tasteful prime-time series currently scheduled on the cable network, such as “South Park” and “The Man Show.”
This week, Comedy Central is expanding its lineup of original prime-time series to five nights, offering new seasons of such favorites as “The Man Show,” “Turn Ben Stein On,” “South Park” and the British version of “Who’s Line is It Anyway?” as well as the premieres of three new shows: “Strip Mall,” the game show “Don’t Forget Your Toothbrush” and the Britcom “The League of Gentlemen.”
“We have five nights of original programming, which is huge for us,” says Deborah Liebling, senior vice president of original programming and development for Comedy Central. The network decided to expand because “we have a lot of original shows that are working. Our goal was to get as much original programming in prime [time] as we could.”
“Comedy has always pushed the envelope or it’s not really effective,” says Liebling. “Not necessarily in language but conceptually. That is what comedy is--saying the things that are taboo. Comedians have always talked about religion and politics in a way that is a little more dangerous. I think that’s how I would look at what we do.”
Comedy Central, which is available in more than 65 million homes, hopes the new series will help court the highly desirable 18 to 49 age demographic. Though the network attracts more men than women, Liebling points out the disparity “is not as much as you think. ‘The Man Show’ surprisingly has a significant amount of female viewers because you can laugh at men. It gives you a look at how they operate.”
“Strip Mall,” which airs Sundays at 10:30 p.m., stars Julie Brown as a former child star who now lives in the Valley and is married to nerdy owner of a dry cleaning facility at the Rancho del Toro--a strip mall that is actually a hotbed of sex, greed and sin.
“Julie came in and pitched us and I just thought it was a very, very funny idea,” says Liebling. “It was such a funny premise to take that sort of prime time soap type of show and put the spin on it. It is a bat out of hell, this show.”
“The League of Gentlemen,” airing Mondays at 10:30 p.m., features the British comedy team of Steve Pemberton, Mark Gatiss and Reece Shearsmith who play more than 60 characters living in a bizarre small town in Northern England including a psychotic couple who run the local store, a vet who kills more animals than he saves and a man who raises toads.
“I have no idea how it’s going to go down in America,” says Pemberton, who plays several female characters, including the pig-nosed owner of the local store. “We are surprised it has played anywhere outside of Britain--really outside of Northern Britain. We are all from the north of England. We found it a very specific humor.’
The dark, bizarre humor actually recalls such famous British comedies like “Kind Hearts and Coronets” and “The Ladykillers.”
“We looked at a lot of different films and drew a lot of references from the cinema rather than other comedy programs,” explains Pemberton.
Liebling believes “League of Gentlemen” fits in nicely with Comedy Central’s game plan. “The British sensibility lives well in the context of Comedy Central. We had a lot of success with ‘Absolutely Fabulous.’ There is room for a show like this on Comedy Central.”
The goofy game show “Don’t Forget Your Toothbrush” originated in England but has been revamped for American audiences. “It was very much built over there on the personality of Chris Evans,” says executive producer Andrew J. Golder (“Win Ben Stein’s Money”).
“In Britain, it was more of a variety show,” says Golder. The British show was outrageous, but what we have tried to do is mine the outrageousness. It’s sort of a mix between a game show and a sketch show where people from the audience get picked out to be involved in the sketches where they can win and loses things. Our first goal is that it has to be funny and larger than life.”
The entire studio audience shows up with their luggage in anticipation of winning a dream vacation or a not-so-dreamy getaway. Mark Curry (“Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper”) is the live-wire host. In the pilot, he convinces a woman to destroy her beloved stuffed animal for $1,000. In another sketch, a woman is blind-folded and asked to guess what four strapping men have hanging under their kilts.
“I’m learning every day to make it more me,” says Curry. “I feel like I can do whatever I want. I can be quick-witted and funny. It’s like the game show I have have been waiting for.”
The challenge with the series, says Golder, is that “you have to be ratcheting up the surprises. By week 10, I’ll be doing executions!”
The new prime-time Comedy Central series are “Strip Mall,” Sundays at 10:30 p.m.; “The League of Gentlemen,” Mondays at 10:30 p.m.; and “Don’t Forget Your Toothbrush,” Tuesdays at 10 p.m.
