This summer, a bidding war broke out over a new comedy pilot to star and be co-written by comedian/actress Sarah Silverman. The increasingly ambitious NBC won out, and has just finalized the pilot order for this new project, which will be executive produced by Ron Howard and his Imagine associate Brian Grazer.
The pilot, written by Silverman and her Comedy Central series The Sarah Silverman Program writers Dan Sterling and Jon Schroeder, will be a humorous, semi-autobiographical account of Silverman’s transition back into single life after a decade-long live-in relationship. Many are probably familiar with the long-term relationship Silverman shared with ABC’s late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel from 2002 to 2009.
This new single-camera comedy is still untitled. What begs a few questions is Silverman’s merge with network television. The comedian is infamous for her very crude, very raunchy brand of humor. Naturally, getting a way with this sort of material was not as big a problem on her former cable station, Comedy Central. However, the Silverman we know might be amended to fit what the standards of network TV.
Perhaps a more regimented, more balanced format is what Silverman needs to really excel. The comic actress is a talented one, but her Comedy Central series was a bit too all over the place to really work for many of us. Putting the wild Silverman in a more grounded universe could be a formula for comedic success. And having Howard involved inspires a great deal of faith.
Soure: Deadline
