Posted on 11/20/2006 12:42:12 AM PST by peggybac
Fox News Channel might air two episodes of a "Daily Show"-like program with a decidedly nonliberal bent on Saturday nights in late January, with the possibility that it could become a weekly show for the channel.
The half-hour show is executive produced by "24's" Joel Surnow and Manny Cota and creator Ned Rice, who previously wrote for "Politically Incorrect" and "Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson" through This Just In Prods. It would take aim at what Surnow calls "the sacred cows of the left" that don't get made as much fun of by other comedy shows.
"It's a satirical news format that would play more to the Fox News audience than the Michael Moore channel," Surnow said. "It would tip more right as 'The Daily Show' tips left."
The show was pitched as "This Just In" when it first got life as a 20-minute pilot presentation for Fox Broadcasting Co.'s late-night division. But when that network passed, Surnow said it attracted the attention of Fox News Channel chief Roger Ailes.
"I showed it to Roger, and he really liked it and thought it could work on Fox News if we could make it conform to some of the restraints" of a cable news channel. Fox News Channel confirmed that talks were going on.
"Fox News is always looking for new cutting-edge programming ideas," said Bill Shine, senior vp programming at Fox News. "We look forward to working with Joel Surnow on this opportunity."
Taped before a studio audience in Los Angeles, the show will feature two co-anchors, actors Kurt Long ("Cuts," "Games Across America") and Susan Yeagley ("Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Reno 911!"). It also will feature person-on-the-street interviews and correspondent reports like other shows. But Surnow said that it's not going to be strictly conservative but more in the spirit of the old and rebellious "Saturday Night Live."
"It's not going to hit you over the head with partisan politics," Surnow said. "It'll hit anything that deserves to be hit."
The title "This Just In" was scrapped after producers found out the name was being used by an HBO-AOL production. A new title has not been settled on.
Surnow said the two shows will be completed within the next couple of months and that none of the pilot presentation will be used on air. He said he thinks that it will appeal to millions of people who aren't seeing this type of show on television and that it would skew younger than the normal cable news demographic.
"The most exciting thing for us will be that it's going to be fresh," Surnow said.
OMG! If this is real, it will be the answer to my prayers. I've also dreamed of a conservative version of 60 Minutes, where the reporters follow Jesse Jackson around and find out how he makes his money.
Great news! I can't wait to hear the libs start crying. LOL
It all depends on the quality writers and on-air personalities. I have no way of knowing, but I'm betting this show will suck.
I hope it doesn't suck - with Joel Surnow (Exec. Producer of "24") at the helm, I'm guessing it will be great. I sure hope so.
Kevin Nealon is hilarious doing live standup.
I'm all for it, if they make it genuinely funny. One thing I can't stand is lame comedy (Stuart Smalley, anyone?).
But I doubt this will happen, it'll probably be too PC, and it will be off air in 6 months or less.
I bet he's funny. The only SNL alum I've seen on stage is Melanie Hutsell - she was just OK.
I'll have to keep an eye out for this show. Hope it is as good as they say it is.
I hope it's good too. But corporate-generated copycats don't have such a good track record (Al Franken as the liberal version of Rush Limbaugh, for example).
Heck, they can get their jokes right here.
I'd like to see a segment where they interview Democrats in Maryland to imply, since they rejected Kwiesi Mfume and Michael Steele, that they are racists.
Heck, the conservatives wanted the black guy both times - once to muck up the Dem primary and the second time to defeat the Dems altogether. But, no, it's Tennessee that's supposedly racist, not Maryland.
You know how bad the writing is on TV, with 200,000 posters we should be able to beat what is out there!! Maybe get a few bucks too!
This will great fun, and it's about damn time!!!!!
I hope it's successful. :>
However, I'll warn you all ahead of time; there are people who think biting satire is hilarious unless it could be identified as being pro-establishment. I don't remember if it was Vanity Fair or Esquire that dedicated an entire article to someone's opinion that 'Dennis Miller used to be funny; now he's a Bush puppet.' Said article came complete with an illustration of Miller as monkey to organ grinder W.
Another example: Roger Ebert found some things to like in South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut, but when it came to Parker & Stone's Team America: World Police, with its broad potshots at Tim Robbins, Sean Penn and other leftist luminaries of showbiz, he couldn't deal with it.
What's really seriously needed now are some hard hitting, 24/7 days conservative channels that separately cover the news, entertainment, sports, and a variety of other subjects without all of the political liberal bias and without all of the political correctness that continues to exist at the worldwide level for several decades now! There still is a major demand for this to really happen, and many people-especially conservatives all over the world-continue to be very disappointed that this hasn't happened as of yet.
People also want 24/7 news channels that truly are always "all neutral, all of the time", and even the Fox News Channel doesn't really go as far as that. In fact, the Fox News Channel continues to slowly trend more to the left politically every year.
I use to get extremely frustrated during the years of the Bill Clinton administration. That entire bunch was just ripe for a weekly comedy satire TV show, yet no one stepped up to the plate. Thank goodness Rush was at least doing something on the radio to parody that bunch of clowns!
I've actually been watching CNN more for Glenn Beck. It was my wife who got me hooked.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.