UPFRONT fully redefines the family in a very funny and nonthreatening method.” Of course, “Comedy has only one requirement: It has to be funny,” Scardino says. “Frankly, when I read all the bloviating about ‘single camera,’ ‘multi-camera,’ ‘culture clash,’ etc — to me it’s just ‘industry experts’ showing off with jargon.” The next logical questions to ask are what will work — namely next season — and how comedy’s recent rise will impact the market. Concerning the latter, Scardino says we can all expect — you guessed it — more comedies. “Interestingly, to see the current resurgence in comedy, consider that the CW is now looking at comedies this pilot season after going several seasons without any comedies.” One such pilot, titled The Carrie Diaries, is a prequel to Candace Bushnell’s Sex and the City series, and it imagines a young Carrie Bradshaw coming of age in the 1980s. Actually brightening News Corp.’s fourth-quarter earnings, FX continues to gamble — and win — with unconventional comedies like Louie, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Elijah Wood’s turn as a (most likely) hallucinating recluse in Wilfred. The network has high hopes for Anger Management, a comedy pilot starring Selma Blair and Charlie Sheen. (Your loss, CBS!) Even the Independent 14 MEDIA MAGAZINE Spring 2012 Film Channel has morphed into a comedy machine. Part of AMC Networks, IFC is betting big on the second season of original sketch show Portlandia — starring Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein — and David Cross’s The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret. For 2012, IFC just gave green lights to two new scripted comedies, beginning with Comedy Bang! Bang! — a sketch variety show based on Scott Aukerman’s podcast of the same name. Aukerman is co-creator of Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis. The second show, Bunk, is a game-show parody with a rotating lineup of comedians. What else can we expect in 2012-2013? More of the same, suggests Scardino. “TV is not an innovative medium. I don’t see anything in the pilots that have been picked up so far that’s ‘out of the box,’ and that’s not surprising … if there’s any comedy that I would expect to see imitated it’s probably New Girl, especially since I’m already seeing the lead character’s hairstyle in new commercials.” That doesn’t mean, however, that the networks plan on mailing it in. Quite the contrary, “We are making a concerted effort to launch more comedies at NBC right now and have opened a new block on Wednesdays to complement our established Thursday night series,” says Salke. “We also have a strong comedy development slate right now, featuring some great writers and producers that we are hopeful will give us additional comedy franchises for the coming years.” One could take that to mean that NBC isn’t entirely satisfied with Up All Night and Whitney, one of which is faring far better than the other. (Hint: It’s the one featuring Will Arnett, Christina Applegate and Maya Rudolph.) “There is the possibility of more nights with comedy blocks,” says Carroll. “Comedies can build on an ‘ongoing’ basis a successful night for a network.” Adds Carroll: “As the procedurals begin to fade, the cycle may return to comedy.” Jones, for his part, doesn’t believe that the present comedy revival has hit its peak. “There is clearly a comedy surge,” he says, “so if you’re at a network that relies on comedy, you’re in a good place right now.” “Comedy will continue to flourish in the coming television seasons,” adds Trilling at CBS Entertainment. “There is a great base of comedies on television now that can launch new programs in the seasons to come.” “All programming genres are cyclical,” Scardino cautions. “TV comedy was pronounced dead until Cosby resurrected it, then dead again until the last season or two.” Adds Scardino: “No doubt, [comedy] will die once more.” TOP 3 C OMEDY Two and a Half Men: Who needs Charlie? Ashton Kutcher unexpectedly revived this aging show The Big Bang Theory: Besides beating up on American Idol, Big Bang is also climbing fast in syndication Modern Family: Funny, smart and unexpected, the show is raising the bar for quality writing Nielsen, Household rating, 2011 through 2012 season, through 2/5/12 modern family photo: abc; big bang theory and two and a half men photos: cbs
2012 Get the Lowdown on the Upfront April 10, 2012 Sentry Centers Midtown East New York City www.mediapost.com/outfrontconference Tune in. Turn on. Buy in?
Change language