So there used to be this show called Night Flight. It was on the USA Network in the 80’s and the general premise of the show was, “Let’s show a bunch of cool shit late at night.” The whole thing cost about a dollar to produce and it was amazing.
Then at some point in the mid 80’s, basic cable television decided “Why should we spend even a dollar on ANYTHING when we can charge TWO dollars and put on infomercials?”
The insomniac demographic has been grossly underrepresented on cable television ever since. However, over the last few years I’ve noticed Comedy Central has been blowing off infomercials in favor of, get this — actual television! What’s even cooler, a lot of the stuff they show is uncensored.
See, there’s no FCC law that says you can’t use the word fuck and flash a pair of tits on cable television. It’s always been a corporate decision made by networks to self-censor and in turn, appeal to more advertisers. But at some point networks like Comedy Central and FX started to remember, “Oh yeah! Adults watch commercials too.” That’s how we ended up hearing the word “Shit” on South Park 162 times in 2001.
Anyway, F-bombs and boobs are beside the point (though always appreciated), what I’m excited to see is this possible return to late-night weirdness on cable television. I’m particularly excited to see my friend (and founding member of the Upright Citizens Brigade) Matt Besser, has an upcoming special airing on Comedy Central called “This Show Will Get You High.” Here’s when it’s on:
Wednesday 10/27/10 - 3:00 AM
Thursday 10/28/10 - 4:30 AM
Monday 11/1/10 - 4:00 AM
I don’t know why more cable programmers don’t do this. Everyone spends a ton of money shooting all these cool pilots. Why not throw ‘em on the air once in a while and see what happens? Especially if it means more cool, weird, late-night programming.
I know infomercials are a nice source of revenue for the cable networks. but every once in a while, after spending all that money shooting a pilot… maybe it might be a good idea to put it on TV and see what people actually think?
It’s nice to see Comedy Central recognizes the value of the late-night weird audience. Wouldn’t you rather have something on the air like Besser’s show instead of paid programming?
And who the fuck actually watches infomercials?!
1 year ago
