An elegy for Comedy Central as we once knew it

Therese Odell

4 years ago

Here’s A BUNCH OF TV News

According to this Hollywood Reporter piece, Trevor Noah’s departure from The Daily Show is just one part of a bigger problem for Comedy Central, which has been decimated from its former glory by MTV Entertainment Group CEO Chris McCarthy. Noah announced he was leaving the show just one day after having lunch with McCarthy, who came away from the meeting believing that Noah was staying through at least the 2023-2024 season. Except, no. He’s not.

Since getting the job as the head of MTV in 2016, McCarthy has been reducing Comedy Central to a hub of nothing but adult animation series and reruns; and live-action shows like Drunk History, The Other Guys, and South Side have been canceled or moved to HBO Max. You’ll notice that the reboot of Inside Amy Schumer is going to debut on Paramount+, not Comedy Central where it originated; this is no doubt part of the reason.

Depending on who in town you ask, McCarthy is either “a smart, thoughtful straight shooter” who’s executing a strategy that’s necessary in an increasingly challenged entertainment environment, or an “aloof bean counter” more interested in squeezing margins and pumping out press releases than in cultivating talent or hit shows. At one of his first all-hands meetings at Comedy Central, McCarthy allegedly was asked what his favorite show was, and, according to one employee present, he said he liked watching CNN. “He couldn’t think of one TV show,” offers the still incredulous source.

What could go possibly wrong with putting a humorless bean counter who doesn’t watch TV in charge of Comedy Central? So, yeah, it sounds like the Comedy Central that created classics like Key & Peele; The Chappelle Show; and Broad City is dead and gone. R.I.P., old friend.

That big Moonlighting news was just that they are preparing the original series for streaming.

It's an ambitious project. Lots of moving parts. And it could take quite a while. But I wanted you to be the first to know. pic.twitter.com/x7iPUy3iUK

— Glenn Caron (@GlennGCaron) October 5, 2022

I mean, OK.

The guy whose Charmin Bears bit was stolen wholesale by the Saturday Night Live writers has responded to the mess, and honestly, he’s being very generous about the whole situation. The show is claiming it was a case of “parallel thinking” but I don’t know, man.

This isn’t TV-related … exactly … but comedy institution Second City is going to open its first New York City location ever. Second City, as you might know, has produced many Saturday Night Live legends, as well as the entire cast of SCTV, and Stephen Colbert and Steve Carrell, among countless others. This new development should make casting for SNL considerably easier on Lorne.

Peacock is out here wanting to bundle with someone, apparently, but no one is interested, in part because they only have 15 million subscribers. But the problem is more than that, right? Disney+ is Disney/ABC/ESPN/Fox/Hulu; Paramount+ is CBS/Showtime/Paramount; HBO Max is HBO/Discovery; so maybe Peacock, which is NBCUniversal’s streamer needs to be upping the Universal side of their content? That, or try to bundle with AMC+/Shudder/Sundance/IFC, which also has a low subscriber base?

Just ask the creator of Pennyworth: platforms matter.

Inventing Anna‘s Anna Sorokin has been released from custody but is still under house arrested.

How do you have a list of the 46 best-cast younger versions of characters in movies and TV and not include Younger and Older Alicent on House of the Dragon? (Rhaenyra … not so much.) Honestly, I thought that this was going to be the entire point of this list:

Anyway, some of the castings in the Buzzfeed piece are remarkably similar; some you can tell are relying HEAVILY on hair, makeup, and costume to do the heavy lifting; and some do not look alike at all, aside from race and hair color.

Wait, what?

Crazy shit that almost happened #1:
In season 2, a possessed Will was going to kill Bob.

— stranger writers (@strangerwriters) October 5, 2022

That Stranger Things Halloween display is back up. (Just stay off the neighbor’s lawns, guys.)

In Development

The Changemakers, a documentary about activists, has been greenlit at Paramount+.
The Improbable Tales of Baskerville Hall is being turned into a kids’ TV series.

Casting News

Lyle Lovett and Darius Rucker are going to guest star on Big Sky on ABC.
Emma Caulfield Ford will return as Dottie on Agatha: Coven of Chaos on Disney+.
Tom Sweet has been cast as Pip in Great Expectations on FX and BBC.
Virginia Madsen, Lori Petty, Keson John, Clive Standen, Carl Lumbly, David Costabile, Costa Ronin, Lindsey Kraft, Tobias Jelinek, Minnie Mills, and Ivan G’vera have been cast in Obliterated on Netflix.
Jemaine Clement, Jarrad Wright, Rachel House, Miranda Otto, and Hugo Weaving have joined the cast of Koala Man on Hulu.

Mark Your Calendars

The White Lotus will return on HBO on October 30.

AHS: NYC returns on FX on October 19.

Causeway will debut on Apple TV+ on November 4.

Slumberland will debut on Netflix on November 18.

Love Is Blind returns on Netflix on October 19.

The Really Loud House will debut on Nickelodeon on November 3.

Gabriel Iglesias: Stadium Fluffy will debut on Netflix on October 18.

The Surreal Life returns on VH1 on October 24.

The Culpo Sisters will debut on TLC and Discovery+ on November 7.

UNINTERRUPTED’s Top Class: The Life and Times of the Sierra Canyon Trailblazers will premiere on Freevee on October 31.

ONI: Thunder God’s Tale will debut on Netflix on October 21.

Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King will premiere on Netflix on March 31.

Christmas at The Greenbrier will debut on Fox Nation on November 24.

R.I.P.

Bernard McGuirk, Right-wing radio host

WATCH THIS

Station 19: A tornado passes through Seattle in the season premiere. 7 p.m., ABC

Walker: Cordell goes missing in the season premiere. 7 p.m., The CW

Grey’s Anatomy: The residency program begins again bringing a new generation of ~~actors~~ interns to Grey Sloan Memorial. Season premiere. 8 p.m., ABC

Walker: Independence: In the 1800s, a young widow arrives in the town of Independence, Texas, and meets a town full of eclectic residents with dark pasts and secrets. Series premiere. 8 p.m., The CW

Alaska Daily: A disgraced journalist moves to Anchorage for a new start, and begins investigating a cold case. Series premiere. 9 p.m., ABC

Hellraiser: A new take on the Clive Barker classic, this time with a lady Pinhead! Representation matters! Premiere. Hulu

Catherine Called Birdy: Bella Ramsey stars in this coming-of-age drama set in 1290, as a young woman who DOES NOT WANT TO GET MARRIED. Premiere. Prime Video

Friend of the Family: Anna Paquin, Colin Hanks, and Jake Lacey star in this limited series based on the unbelievable true story of the Broberg family whose young daughter was kidnapped multiple times by a family friend. Series premiere. Peacock

Deadstream: A disgraced internet personality tries to recover his fan base by live-streaming from a haunted house. This one is getting a solid 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, if you’re looking for something spooky to watch. Shudder

Pennyworth: Arthur Pennyworth’s origin story moves from EPIX to HBO Max for the third season. Season premiere. (The first two seasons are available on HBO Max now, too, in case you didn’t have EPIX.) Premiere. HBO Max

The Problem with Jon Stewart: Season premiere. Apple TV+

Late Night: