The Sarah Silverman Program debuted with great numbers for Comedy Central last week. They are understandably pleased about that, but this announcement came as a bit of a surprise to me. The network has already picked up a second season, after just two airings of the show. That seems to be a bit of a gamble.I watched the first two episodes, and they weren't bad. There were some genuinely funny moments in both of them. My favorite parts were the scenes with Zach Galifianakis, but I always like him.
In watching it though, I got the feeling that this could grow old rather quickly. Sure, it could be a break out hit. It's hard to predict what is going to catch on. And because it's so hard, giving it a little time to prove itself might have been a wise move. Nobody wants to be stuck with the last season of Drew Carey, long after fans have quit watching.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-14-2007 @ 10:22AM
Ben K said...
Well I say Thank you to Comedy Central for giving us a second season of an extremely funny show!
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2-13-2007 @ 4:11PM
Bill said...
Sarah Silverman has enough of a fan base that someone will watch, and I bet the budget for the show is pretty small. So it's probably not much of a risk, really. But they will look pretty stupid if it Commander-in-Chief's halfway through the season.
http://popculturejunk.blogspot.com
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2-13-2007 @ 4:58PM
const said...
i love this type of humor. But...her show is already getting a bit tiresome. My attention span starts to drift at times with her aloofness.
Her sister is great on this show.
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2-13-2007 @ 4:58PM
malren said...
Am I the only person that thought the LEAST funny parts of her movie were the skits and soings? And now we have a whole show of this crap? Watered down for TV?
I have always loved Sarah's standup routines, but I feel like I'm the only one not getting this new show. I actually hate it and canceled my season pass already. It's not just unfunny, it's painfully unfunny save for one or two moments that usually don't involve Sarah and her "Look I say doody and queef and I'm pretty" schtick she's relying on so much these days.
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2-13-2007 @ 6:31PM
Brett said...
marlen and const, you hit on what I am getting at here. Obviously, like me, you tuned in out of curiousity, boosting those premiere ratings, but what are the chances you'll be around for episode 20? The pickup seems premature.
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2-13-2007 @ 7:32PM
Kurifurisan said...
Brett...I would agree, picking this show up for a second season after two eps is a huge gamble for Comedy Central. I liked the premiere episode but felt the second one was a little flat...Sarah's humor seemed restricted because it's cable tv.
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2-13-2007 @ 8:37PM
Bob Loblaw said...
Wasn't the season 1 episode order only 6 episodes? Considering on a regular network the commitment for the first season would typically start around 13 episodes or so, renewing now isn't as radical as you all make it out to be. With the ratings this show has pulled the first two episodes ( 1/3 of the 1st season), this makes sense, because they would risk alienating a healthy number of viewers if they flat out canceled it. Remember, season one of the office sucked badly, but by renewing it, NBC was showing they had faith, both in Steve Carrell and the show itself. Same thing here. Season 1 of Seinfeld was only what, 4 episodes or something? And they all got terrible ratings but NBC renewed it anyway, same thing here, except the network executives no doubt are happier with her ratings than they were with his.
Also, bill, to "Commander-in-Chief" this show would have to be hyped big only to fall flat on its face halfway through the first season. Your analogy is false on it's face - ABC never renewed Commander-In-Chief prematurely only to watch it die.
http://www.i.dont.comment.on.tvsquad.only.to.leave.my.own.blog.address.BS.spam.org
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2-14-2007 @ 5:49AM
Bill said...
Bob Loblaw: The Sarah Silverman Program has started off with some critical praise and strong ratings. If halfway through the first season, people lose interest, Comedy Central will look silly.
Commander-in-Chief started off with some critical praise and strong ratings. Halfway through the first season, people lost interest. That's the analogy. I'm aware it wasn't renewed.
http://popculturejunk.blogspot.com/
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2-14-2007 @ 7:43AM
Bob Loblaw said...
Bill:
The point I'm making that you're missing, is that as of this week, the Sarah Silverman program will be halfway done with its first season run. The episode order is only six for season one.
It was a trial run, pure and simple. This is pretty similar to one of the major networks only ordering a few episodes and waiting for initial ratings to come in before they order more episodes to complete the season.
I mean, that's the way i see it anyway.
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2-14-2007 @ 7:54AM
RSL said...
I'd like to see a comparison of Sarah's numbers versus, oh... let's say... Reno 911's [a show that's made it four seasons to _no_ acclaim it seems]. I don't think Comedy Central is looking for the next Lost/Gray's Anatomy as far as viewers go.
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2-14-2007 @ 9:10AM
Bill said...
Bob Loblaw: Oh, no, don't get me wrong, you raised a good point about the initial 6 episode order. I was just addressing your complaint with the commander in chief comparison.
RSL: I think Comedy Central may be more concerned about young male demographics, since that's their core audience, but I did my best googling.
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/ent_radio/story/497213p-419101c.html
http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Reno_911!
The bottom of the first article puts the total viewership for the Sarah Silverman Program at 1.7 million, the end of the first section in the 2nd puts the 4th season finale (only one I could find ratings for) of Reno 911 at 966,000. So that's almost double. SSP probably has a bigger budget, but not by that much, so Comedy Central's probably right to be excited.
http://popculturejunk.blogspot.com
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2-14-2007 @ 9:33AM
justelise said...
I got tired of the show just listening to her on her little late night talk show circuit tour when she show was about to air. Comedy Central is trying to find a new Chappelle's Show in this and I think they'll be sorely mistaken.
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2-14-2007 @ 12:30PM
RSL said...
@ Bill [#10]. Thank you for making my point about the numbers. Sarah could lose half her viewers and _still_ be Reno 911. ;) In case it wasn't clear. Me == Fan of SS.
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