More info on Edie Falco’s new Showtime series
Remember back in February when we told you that Edie Falco was signed for a new dark situation comedy from Showtime about a harried nurse?
Well, they’ve started filming the show in New York and given it a tentative title, Nurse Jackie. What’s more, the cast surrounding Edie includes some familiar faces.
Nurse Jackie will have a boyfriend and he will be played by Paul Schulze. The name may not be familiar, but the face sure is. Paul was Father Phil on The Sopranos, the priest who spent a lot of time with Carmella and had her thinking they were going to replay The Thornebirds.
On this Showtime series, he’s Eddie and he works in the hospital in the pharmacy. That’s important because reportedly Edie’s character has a problem with drugs.
What’s this, she’s a female House? Could she be popping Vicodin as prodigiously as he does? Could anyone?
Other actors in the pilot are West Wing veteran Anna Deavere Smith as a hospital administrator, Mrs. Akalitus, Merritt Wever (NCIS) as Zoey, a young nurse working with Jackie, and Haaz Sleiman (Veronica Mars) a gay Muslim nurse.
The original scoop compared this comedy to Weeds, in particular, the way it’s going to be filmed and the satiric tone. The latest bit also includes more about Jackie’s character, saying that she “has an almost-clairvoyant ability to figure out what’s wrong with her patients even before doctors can — making her a much-sought-after commodity in the ER.”
Caryn Mandabach, an experienced, Emmy-award winning showrunner, is executive producing. Her credits include Grounded for Life, 3rd Rock from the Sun, That ’70s Show and The Cosby Show.
If Showtime likes what they produce, Nurse Jackie — or whatever it’s finally called — could be on the air in Spring 2009, maybe sooner. Considering the quality of the talent, I think we’ll see it sooner rather than later.
Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List: season premiere
Kathy Griffin is back, or as I choose to call her now Emmy Girl. Yes, the Emmy is on full display. In your face, everyone, Kathy’s got an Emmy! Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List won the Emmy last year and if this first episode is a sample of what season four has in store, that Emmy is going to get a companion. This show is riotous. And irreverent and a perfect blend of comedy and celebrity reality which is really unreality because how many of us interact with Anderson Cooper and Michael Moore?
Kathy Griffin has found the perfect genre for her particular brand of comedy. A sitcom wouldn’t capture her true character, strict stand-up is not her best venue (although she’s gotten very good at it), and a talk show would force her to chat with others and appear interested. The My Life on the D-List format works for her and she’s found a way to incorporate stand up, situation comedy and guests into a reality hour that highlights her being funny. She has supporting players — Team Griffin, Jessica, Tiffany, Tom and Kathy’s adorable mom, Maggie — as her comic foils and partners in crime.
She has stars popping in as guests. She portends that this is reality, but it’s her reality, so that means showing her naked ambition to become a big star. Kathy, I hate to tell you this, honey, but you’ve succeeded. Thanks to your self-deprecating, ribald and outrageous humor and humanity, My Life on the D-List is now an oxymoron. You ain’t a D-Lister no more.
The season premiere started off with a bang as Kathy gets a plum gig, co-hosting New Year’s Eve in Times Square for CNN with Anderson Cooper. In typical Griffin fashion, she worries that her team will spend New Year’s drinking and cavorting, leaving her to fen for herself. When they come up with a drinking game — every time Kathy calls Anderson “Andy,” they down a shot — you know someone’s going to wind up puking. What was really interesting about this segment was that we glimpsed briefly that Ms. Griffin actually works at her craft; she writes material and studies it. Those witty retorts come from not just a quick mind and sharp tongue, but planning. Kudos, K. Kudos, too, for Andy Cooper. He came off looking like a good sport — which I think he is, and not just because he was nice to me when I interviewed him for TV Week. Great line, Kathy told her mother that Jessica was “Hurling in the new year.”
Kathy’s life now includes a new man, and what a man he is. Oh, he may look like just another average Joe, but he’s not. Steve Wozniak, or Woz as we like to call him, simply created the Apple Computer with Steve Jobs. Depending on whose history you believe, Woz was the brains and Jobs knew how to make things happen (he still does). But Woz is very sweet and it was hilarious when Kathy talked about how he can talk about the most complex topics and she just answers, “I concur.”
They go to the Producers Guild Awards, where My Life on the D-List is pitted against Planet Earth, 60 Minutes, and Extreme Home Makeover. Knowing she’s bound to lose to Planet Earth because Oprah endorsed it. The producer pays here a house call, fearing that Kathy will say something wrong at the event — she promises him that she will. I love when she said, “Is Oprah the new Scientology where people are so afraid of her that they could lose their livelihoods?”
The Woz thing is really funny, because he’s more of a star to some people than Kathy. At the PGA event, Michael Moore gushed over Woz’s contribution to the world. Woz’s response, “The world did some good things and I was just there for the ride.” Overall, though my favorite Kathy-Woz moment was in the car. He hacks into her IPhone — completely in his element. Kathy looks on adoringly. Her line says it all: “You really have an aptitude for this. You’re a throbbing brain with a tie.”
Like every My Life on the D-List, Kathy has filled it with jokes and gags. This is the kind of show to watch again and again — which is a good thing since Bravo will run it ad infinitum. I’ll be watching and re-watching. Welcome back, KG.
Other points of interest
— Kathy’s new fashion look is sexy socialite. Can she be “Sexy socialite every day of the year?”
— Her opening line to Anderson Cooper: “It’s such a treat for you to be here with me, Anderson.” Before the broadcast, he warned her that if she said anything outrageous on New Year’s Eve, there was no seven second delay. “If you say Suck It Jesus, it’s going out there worldwide.”
— When Planet Earth won, Kathy shoots the bird — with both hands. She complained loudly, “Oprah fucked me again!”
— While presenting American Idol creator Simon Fuller as the visionary of the year, she riffs on Paula, saying she was propped up like a puppet. Kathy also wonders what vision Simon Fuller had, remaking Star Search?
— Hilarious moment at the podium, a loud noise like a gun shot goes off. Kathy goes down as if she were shot. As Woz bends over her, she jokes, “Don’t ever make an Oprah joke. Those are my dying words.”
Eight sets of memorable sitcom siblings
Recently, the AOL list of the 50 Best Sitcoms of all time got me thinking about ten all time great sitcom sidekicks. Working on that list inspired me to look at the best in sitcom siblings — ADULTS ONLY. The brother/sister relationship, brothers, sisters, family dynamics are great fodder for comedy. For my collection of the best, I’ve limited it to grown-up siblings only because there are some truly funny things that happen only among adults brothers and sisters that are unique and universal at the same time. After all, unlike the childhood years when kids are controlled by parents, adult siblings remain close and in each other’s lives by choice — and that has made for some wonderful situation comedy.
Niles & Frasier Crane, Frasier
Two brothers, both psychiatrists, both opera buffs, both wine connoisseurs, both heterosexual despite evidence to the contrary. The Crane brothers were like two peas in a very funny pod, sparking each other in comedy, competitive and supportive at the same time. Making their brotherly friendship even funnier was the fact that their Dad, Martin, who was nothing like either one of them. What’s even funnier is the fact that when Frasier was originally spun-off from Cheers, the writers didn’t include the character of Niles. It was only after seeing an 8×10 of David Hyde Pierce, and how much he looked like Kelsey Grammer’s brother, that they put him in the pilot. Frasier would not have been nearly the hit comedy it was without the brother angle.
Randy & Earl Hickey, My Name Is Earl
Never have two sitcom brothers been more joined at the hip. Randy lives in Earl’s shadow, a comfy corner in which he admires and follows his older brother through every lame-brain escapade as Earl tries to cross the names off the list of people he’s wronged in an effort to get on the right side of karma. Jason Lee and Ethan Suplee don’t look like they could have come from the same womb — which adds to the comedy — but in so many ways they are the best of TV brothers. They support each other, respect each other, and love unconditionally — which is a lot to say considering they are morally challenged, petty thieves with few socially redeeming values. They’re also the only siblings on this list that sleep together in the same queen size bed.
Christine Campbell & Matthew, The New Adventures of Old Christine
Christine is a mess. She’s a divorcee, running a gym, raising her 10-year-old soon, struggling to make ends meet and balance it all out. It’s her brother Matthew that’s her rock of Gibraltar, lending a hand, listening to her kvetch, accepting her craziness — as this past season showed, Christine has a perverse attachment to Matthew, and he to her. They’re really each other’s best friend and tent-pole, so they can’t go there separate ways. The neurotic attachment is played for hilarity; one of the funniest sights ever was the two of them on a rock climbing wall dealing with their dependency issues. Julia Louis-Dreyfus has a perfect comic foil in Hamish Linklater.
Ross & Monica Geller, Friends
The connections between all the friends on Friends start with the Gellers, Ross and his sister Monica, played by David Schwimmer and Courteney Cox. As grown ups living in Manhattan, Ross and Monica remained part of each other’s lives and were actually supportive and nurturing siblings. When Ross’s wife left him for another woman, he turned to Monica for a shoulder to cry on. Through the years, through all the ups of down of Ross and Rachel, Monica and Chandler, the bond of brother and sister proved to be as strong as any friendship they shared with their friends.
Suzanne & Julia Sugarbaker, Designing Women
Southern sisters, interior decorators, completely different types, masterfully played by Dixie Carter and Delta Burke. Julia was domineering, in charge, strong, driven, passionate and no-nonsense. Suzanne was former a Miss Georgia World beauty pageant winner who was happy as a clam cashing alimony checks and being a pampered princess. That these two deseparate women were able to work together was something of a miracle, aided by good friends Charlene and Mary Jo. The essence of the show, however, was sisterhood — and that was especially underscored by Sugerbakers.
Alan & Charlie Harper, Two and a Half Men
Like Oscar Madison and Felix Unger on The Odd Couple, Alan moved in on Charlie when divorce ended Alan’s marriage and he had no place else to go. And, like Oscar and Felix, Alan and Charlie are complete opposites. Charlie is a womanizing boozer who’s destiny’s darling, kind of like Charlie Sheen. No, just kidding. On the show, Charlie barely works — writing commercial jingles, although lately he’s become a hit singing kiddie ditties as Charlie Waffles — yet makes mucho dinero and owns a Malibu beachhouse. Jon Cryer is Alan, a good-natured loser, is a hardworking chiropracter who struggles from paycheck to paycheck. The comedy arises from Alan’s bird’s eye view of Charlie’s outrageous lifestyle. But there’s also great business between the two of them as brothers who are so different, and yet they know each other so well from childhood. Together they share shock and awe at their over-the-top mom (the wonderful Holland Taylor). They also try to steer Alan’s son Jake (he’s the half in the title) down the right — if cynical — path.
Lindsay & Michael Bluth, Arrested Development
Amid the bizarre Bluth clan, twins Lindsay and Michael are the seemingly normal pair. The eye of a hurricane, they often could look at the craziness going on in their family with a wry smile and a wink of recognition that if they couldn’t fight them, they might as well join in. Jason Bateman and Portia Di Rossi were off playing straightmen to the comics around them, but they did so with aplomb.
Raymond & Robert Barone, Everybody Loves Raymond
Oh, the envy! The person speaking the title is Robert, Raymond’s older brother. His jealousy of Raymond is so deep, so strong and yet he cannot dislike his little brother. He loves him. It drives him crazy that Raymond has such good fortune, but at the core, Robert really likes Raymond and they have more in common and share more things together than many other siblings. Like David Hyde Pierce, Brad Garrett as Ray Romano’s brother was shrewd casting.
Honorable Mentions
Brian & Joe Hackett, Wings - I loved Wings; not in the original run, but later on, in syndication. Steven Webber and Tim Daly were another mismatched sibling pair, working together in a small airline.
Roseanne Conner & Jackie, Roseanne
Jackie was always there for her big sister, Roseanne, her sounding board and pal. She also needed Roseanne’s washer and dryer to do the laundry. Accomplished actress Laurie Metcalf was the perfect second banana to wisecracking Roseanne, more comic than actress.
Hilda & Betty Suarez, Ugly Betty
Not strictly a sitcom, but a comedy nonetheless, the relationship between ugly Betty and her glamour-seeking big sis Hilda hits home in its familiarity. We’ve all had a big sister like Hilda, haven’t we? No — well, I did. Ana Oritiz and America Ferrara seem like real sisters.
Want to write a comedy for Fox?
Can you write? Do you think you know what makes people laugh? Have you ever tried banging out a sitcom script? If the answer to these questions is yes, yes, and yes, you might want to read on. Fox TV is teaming with the New York Television Festival (NYTVF) in creating a Comedy Script Contest. Wannabe writers are invited — hell, encouraged! — to enter an original comedy pilot for a potential Fox sitcom series. The winner (or winning team if you collaborate with someone) will be awarded $25,000 and a development deal with Fox to turn the pilot into real, honest-to-God TV show.
Considering the pitiful pros passing as live action comedy on Fox these days — Til Death, Back to You, Unhitched — you might think this contest was an act of desperation. It’s not.
At least that’s what Kevin Reilly, Fox prez is saying. “This contest will…give us an opportunity to discover fresh new writing talent and invigorate the network’s comedy development process by reaching out to a wider artistic community.”
The rules are pretty straight forward. Submissions have to be in by June 13, 2008, or when 1,500 submissions are received, whichever comes first. So, if you’re interested, put on a hat like Frank on 30 Rock, channel your inner Rob Petrie (and if you don’t know who that is, you haven’t been reading TV enough), and start scribbling. Remember, this is a 30-minute script. Don’t write an epic; just 25-30 pages of funny stuff.
By the way, if this seems like a familiar idea, it is. Bravo tried something similar in 2005, a reality series about trying to write and produce a sitcom, called Situation: Comedy, with Sean Hayes as the host.