This week brought some great news for original content comedy on the internet. Earlier this week, Ben Stiller's Red Hour Filmsannounced their deal with Paramount Digital Entertainment to produce two new web series. Now, Babelgum, the multichannel platform, has announced their alliance with UCB Comedy, commissing the Upright Citizens Brigade's online comedy team to produce unique programming to run monthly on Babelgum's Comedy Channel. The benefits of streaming on Babelgum's site are huge. Not only will it provide more exposure for UCB Comedy, it will supply an ad team to sell spots against content.
If you missed Comedy Central's broadcast of Night of Too Many Stars, it's never too late to check out some of the funny mess that went down - and to donate.
I've been charmed by some shows this fall season (See Mike and Molly), and since my brain is a barren desert of stress, unicorns and daydreams, I'm inspired by some new shows that appear conventional on the surface, but enjoyable when digging in to view.
CBS unveiled their new law drama The Defenders a few weeks back, starring Jim Belushi and Jerry O'Connell as best pals and defense lawyers bending the rules to find justice in the Las Vegas court system. I'll admit, I wasn't expecting much from another law firm drama. Furthermore, although I like the guy, I was never a fan of Belushi's Life According to Jim. Yet, this show reeled me in.
Belushi plays Nick Morelli, a hard working soon-to-be single father who picks impossible lost cause cases to the bone by going beyond the usual legal methods. Alongside him is O'Connell as Pete Kaczmarek, a man with a hot woman in every corner, and is as relentless as his partner in the pursuit of justice at all costs.
Both Belushi and O'Connell have tight, comedic chemistry. The pace is fast, humorous, but dark when it's needs to be. Vegas is the setting, with big time corruption, crime and sex illuminated by the bright lights of the strip. The Defenders is entertaining. Contrived at times? Yes. It's hard not to roll your eyes when the first scene of the first few shows has Kaczmarek with yet another airline stewardess or babe undressing before or getting dressed after a night of humping. Yet, the show is still fun to watch. And I still can't believe the fit, handsome O'Connell was that chubby kid from Stand By Me.
Don't forget to watch Night of Too Many Stars: An Overbooked Concert for Autism Education at 9pm on Comedy Central tonight. Taped at the Beacon Theater in New York City earlier this month, there will be a live Los Angeles broadcast with a star studded telephone crew taking donations.
Conan's first guests have been announced. Seth Rogan, Tom Hanks, Jack McBrayer and Jon Hamm to name only a few. It's all getting pretty exciting up around here.
Thanks to the Twitterverse, I just caught this feed in the middle of wrapping up the work day: Paramount Digital Entertainment announced today that Ben Stiller's Red Hour Films has signed on to do two digital shorts for the four year old venture. One web series will be an animated version of the 2001 movie Zoolander, where Stiller will reprise the character of the fashion model, and the other will be Billy Glimmer: Entertainer of the Century, starring himself and Human Giant'sRob Huebel.
Nobody provides this source better than Dave Itzoff, who interviewed Stiller on this new venture over at NYTimes.com.
As the countdown to Conan's new show ticks away day by day, the news keeps coming. The biggest non-surprise of the year was made official last week when it was confirmed that Andy Ritcher would join O'Brien as co-host. Today brings another bit of news in the music area. Jimmy Vivino, music associate for Conan's previous show, has been made band leader of 'The Basic Cable Band', formerly the 'Max Weinberg Seven', replacing Weinberg who looked like he took a hike from the Conan bandwagon back in January.
