scripted roster, NBC is something of a comedy juggernaut. However, like most major U.S. studios, it took a hit last year when the writers’ strike halted production smack in the middle of development season. As a result, company president and CEO Jeff Zucker swore off pilot production and downsized plans for new series. Fortunately, after a rocky 2008, NBC’s comedy machine is back in full swing. Jeff Ingold, senior vp of Comedy Development for the network, was optimistic about the new year, pointing out that TV audiences in the U.S. are up from last year and the numbers for NBC’s primetime comedies have increased as well. Ingold attributed this rise in viewership to a variety of factors, including the end of the reality show boom. “We hit a wall with reality shows,” he said, “People turning back to scripted programming is a course correction.” Additionally, Ingold noted that both his company and its biggest comedy competitors have experienced larger audiences since the economy took a nosedive. “CBS has had a nice boost this year, with How I Met Your Mother and Two And A Half Men, which could be due to the economy,” he said. Where new series are concerned, Ingold said that although pick-ups are still going on, NBC has already acquired four new comedies that will debut later this year. Ingold explained that in terms of pilot acquisitions, he and his team have been on the lookout for recession-friendly fare. “We’re trying to stay in touch with what’s going on across the country,” he said, adding that this means “staying on the positive side of things.” NBC’s first new series to hit airwaves is Parks and Recreation, a mockumentarystyle sitcom featuring Saturday Night Live alumnus Amy Poehler as a smalltown bureaucrat. The show premieres April 9, and will initially run for six episodes. Ingold also highlighted Community, a comedy following the lives of students at a community college, which will air this fall. Overall, Ingold summed up the net’s new series as “escapist and fun with a touch of romance, and above all, characterdriven.” Across the pond, London-based ITV Global is hard at work whipping up comedies for both the U.K. and Australia. “Feel-good television is definitely in demand,” said Emmanuelle Namiech, the firm’s director of Acquisitions and Coproductions. To cater to this demand, ITV is producing “cool but easy-tograsp comedies,” including series FM, which will debut at MIP-TV. The series, which was commissioned by ITV2, follows the antics of the staff at a radio station. Regarding general trends, Namiech pointed out that political satire is experiencing a resurgence. ITV’s CGIanimated sketch series Headcases, which is made up of grossly exaggerated sendups of political figures and celebrities, has recently been very successful in the international market. In addition to reflecting the public’s dissatisfaction with world leaders in the face of the financial collapse, Namiech also noted that the program’s appeal may have something to do with the fact that it’s “short, snappy and focuses on really well-known people.” Coincidentally, Los Angeles-based Starz Media will be at MIP-TV pushing the similarly named Head Case. Much like its British counterpart, the Starz series pokes fun at big name celebrities. Gene George, the company’s evp, Worldwide Distribution, summarized the show as “a semi-scripted series about a psychiatrist to the stars featuring reallife celebrities playing themselves.” George went on to say that, since first dabbling in comedy last year, his company is now determined to carve out a niche in what he referred to as “the half-hour comedy space.” In order to do so, Starz is launching its first fully scripted comedy, Party Down, a show about two Los Angeles cater-waiters trying to break into entertainment. Additionally, George and company produce two comedies, sketch showThe Whitest Kids U Knowand semi-scripted Z-Rock for the IFC channel. Of the recession, George pointed out that the theory that the industry stands to benefit from the crash holds water. “TV is the most cost effective entertainment alternative right now,” he said, “And people like to escape to comedy.” New York-based Lightworks Program Distribution has its own semi-scripted celebrity comedy series set to air in Canada. Out There With Melissa DiMarco, much like Starz’s Head Case, satirizes the world of Hollywood actors. The show, which will soon debut on Canada’s Citytv, focuses on real life entertainment journalist Melissa DiMarco as she interacts with celebs on the red carpet and struggles with her personal life. DiMarco, who in addition to being the show’s star also writes and produces the series, explained that Out There is just the thing for hard times. “It’s a good time for light story lines and comedy,” she said. She went on to explain that the show’s basic premise — gently debunking the mystique surrounding celebrity — could be very appealing to people feeling the crunch. “What the show demonstrates,” she said, “is that celebrities are just like everyone else.” John Cuddihy, president and managing director for Lightworks, noted that in addition to its satirical elements, the show’s biggest draw is DiMarco’s talent. “What makes this show so attractive,” he said, “Is that Melissa has a unique way of engaging these stars — and these are all A-listers — and making them be fun.” Cuddihy also alluded to forthcoming international distribution deals outside of Canada, but could not disclose any details. He hopes to close these deals at MIP-TV. Even distributors who usually stick to factual programming are getting in on the comedy game. Los Angeles-based Rive Gauche, which, for the most part, specializes in documentary and reality series, is seeking out chuckles with its new series Scare Tactics. Dorothy Crompton, the firm’s svp of International Sales will be at MIP-TV pushing the series, which centers on elaborately executed pranks incorporating supernatural occurrences. “Reality programs are great,” she said, “But it’s really the comedic twist that sets Scare Tactics apart.” Despite the widespread optimism that the recession will usher in a golden age of comedy, some industry professionals are still insistent that there is no relationship between the state of the economy and the popularity of TV comedy. Herb Lazarus, president of Santa Monica, California’s CarseyWerner, which distributes an impressive catalogue of syndicated comedies, remarked that he has yet to see any correlation between the programming biz and the economy. “The recession is not going to affect a certain genre,” he said. He added that all TV is “light entertainment,” and he doubts that broadcasters will favor comedies over dramas as a response to glum audiences. As for new comedy programming, Lazarus said there will always be a place for the kind of quality shows like The Cosby Show, Roseanne, and That ’70s Show, that eventually make their way to Carsey-Werner’s roster. Overall, however, TV’s laugh-makers seem to be in agreement that the time is ripe for good comedy. Where trends are concerned, satire targeting the rich and famous promises to be in abundance in ’09, along with semi-scripted series. However, ITV’s Namiech may have summed it up best when she said, “Any type of comedy goes right now, although I have yet to be offered a sitcom about investment bankers.” V I D E O • A G E MA R C H/ AP R I L 2 0 0 9 (Continued from Cover) Laughter Is Back 44 Gene George of Starz ITV series Headcases Emmanuelle Namiech of ITV
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