TVSquad

Once again, people, I'm forced to asked the question, what the hell is going on here? Has black become white? Has up replaced down? Has Rush Limbaugh been saying he wishes Barack Obama all the best, while Janeane Garofalo is caught trying to start a fire in the White House rose garden?

The makers of The Sarah Silverman Program have been in a standoff with Comedy Central over their latest budget negotiations. Thankfully, a deal was reached and the show will return for another season, but the deal was even bigger than the budget they called into question.

Well, no one ever said you had to be good at math to run a major network, or any of the other basic requirements for passing standardized testing, for that matter. Fred Silverman's parents, for instance, had to hire their boy a special tutor so he could pass finger painting.

Like AIG, The Sarah Silverman Program needs a bailout.

Comedy Central is cutting the budget for the comedy show by more than 20%, and the three executive producers - including Silverman herself - have threatened to quit the show. The series has not been picked up for a third season yet.

It's actually MTV Networks that is telling Comedy Central that they have to cut the budget. Right now each episode costs around $1.1 million to produce. MTV Network wants that cut down to $850,000 an episode. That's probably more than can be saved by simply replacing the fancy food on the craft services table with stuff from the supermarket.

I predict that they'll settle this, though I have to admit this is a show I don't really watch, even if I do think Silverman is funny. I wouldn't mind having a second new episode of Important Things with Demetri Martin every week if this show is a goner.

• At 8, CBS has a new Survivor, then new episodes of CSI and Eleventh Hour.
• NBC has a new My Name Is Earl at 8, followed by new episodes of Kath & Kim, The Office, 30 Rock, and ER.
• FOX has a new Secret Millionaire at 8, then a new Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?
• ABC Family has The Year Without A Santa Claus at 8, followed by Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys and Twas The Night Before Christmas.
• AMC has the original The Day The Earth Stood Still at 8.
• Cartoon Network has a new Chowder at 8.
• At 9, Lifetime has the movie Christmas Child.
• CNN's Planet in Peril premieres at 9.
• TBS has the Festivus episode of Seinfeld at 9.
• Food Network has the special Dear Food Network: Holiday Parties at 9.
• Hallmark has the movie Moonlight and Mistletoe at 9.
• Also at 9: Spike has a new TNA Impact!
• At 10:30, Comedy Central has a new Sarah Silverman Program.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.

• At 8, ABC has a new Ugly Betty, then a new Grey's Anatomy and Barbara Walters 10 Most Fascinating People.
• CBS has a new Survivor at 8, followed by new episodes of CSI and Eleventh Hour.
• NBC has new episodes of My Name Is Earl, Kath & Kim, The Office, 30 Rock, and ER.
• There's a new Chowder on Cartoon Network at 8.
• Also at 8: TCM has Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, then The Pink Panther.
• At 8:30, HBO has a new De La Hoya/Pacquiao 24/7.
• At 9, CNN has a new CNN Presents.
• Spike has a new TNA Impact! at 9.
• Cartoon Network has a new Total Drama Island at 9.
• At 10, TLC has a new LA Ink.
• At 10:30, Comedy Central has a new Sarah Silverman Program.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.

• At 8, ABC has The Country Music Association Awards.
• CBS has a new Kid Nation at 8, then new episodes of Criminal Minds and CSI: NY.
• NBC has new episodes of Phenomenon, Bionic Woman, and Life.
• FOX has a new Back To You at 8, followed by new episodes of 'Til Death and Kitchen Nightmares.
• There's a new America's Next Top Model on The CW at 8, then a new Gossip Girl.
• PBS has a new Wired Science at 8.
• Also at 8: Food Network has a new Good Eats.
• At 9, Duane "Dog" Chapman talks to CNN's Larry King.
• Discovery has a new Mythbusters at 9.
• The History Channel has a new Lost Worlds at 9, then a new MonsterQuest.
• Food Network has a new special at 9, All-Star Thanksgiving Recipes, followed by a new Dinner: Impossible.
• There's a new Ghost Hunters on Sci-Fi at 9.
• At 9:30, HGTV has a new Design on a Dime.
• At 10, Comedy Central has a new South Park, then a new Sarah Silverman Program.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Here's what's on the schedule this fall on Comedy Central:

September:

Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity airs September 16 at 9:00 p.m. Dunham is a comedian and ventriloquist probably best known for his puppet character, Peanut. If you want to watch a special featuring a man who was mildly popular fifteen years ago, check this one out. Here's a clip from one of his acts.

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.

[ via Cynopsis ]

Not too long ago, I was one of the legions of comedy nerds who thought that Sarah Silverman's act was one of the most brilliant out there in the world of stand-up. Think about it: "She's a pretty girl, but she says all of these offensive things. Look how cute she's being; she doesn't even know how bad she's being!" Etc. When her stand-up act started getting attention a couple of years ago, and especially after her Jesus Is Magic movie hit theaters, her approach to comedy seemed fresh and funny.

Now, two short years and a million articles -- fifty percent of which examined the unlikely relationship between her and Jimmy Kimmel -- later, I'm really starting to get sick of Silverman's act. Why? Because we know what it's going to be. "How offensive can she get? Ooh, let's see her look blankly at the audience and wonder why they're laughing so hard!" That's all there is, and I don't see it getting any deeper.

Mark your calendars. Sarah Silverman's much-delayed Comedy Central show The Sarah Silverman Program will finally get its debut on February 1st at 10:30pm. A six-episode run of the program was scheduled to premiere this past summer - capitalizing on the positive press Silverman garnered for her concert film Jesus is Magic and her appearance in the documentary The Aristocrats. I suppose Comedy Central thought the market for clever, offensive comedy from beautiful women was saturated last summer so they waited to spring the goods on us in '07.

Silverman's television outing was conceived by Silverman along with Dan Harmon and Rob Schrab - names comedy fans may remember as being responsible for the failed Fox pilot turned cult favorite Heat Vision and Jack.