Facing cancellation, The Sarah Silverman Program got a last minute reprieve from Logo, the gay network who, like a broken clock, is correct two times a day. How’d this wackiness happen, you ask? Well, last weekend, Comedy Central’s president of original programing Lauren Corrao was all, “Oh no, we can’t do a 3rd season of Sarah Silverman because it costs too much money!” and then she called up her buddy, former Comedy Central executive Marc Leonard, who now is a senior executive at Logo and said, “Hey douchebag! You’re not doing anything with your money, why not give it to me? You know there’s a couple of gay characters on the show, right? I mean, they’re ironically gay and it’s sort of meant to be a joke, but whatever!”
And Leonard said, “Oh, Lauren– You so crazy” and handed her a bunch of cash that was supposed to go to Logo, but we all know they’d just spend it on something like, The Lesbian Breast Feeding Mommies Club, anyway.
What does Logo get out of the deal? Well, they’ll get to air the Sarah Silverman Program on the network, adding to their roster of other appropriated content that we’ve already seen elsewhere. I mean, we love Sarah Silverman as much as the next fag (read: a little less every day), but if Logo’s just going to be a piggy bank incentive to keep shows with tangentially gay characters on the air on other networks, why not just fold into GLAAD right now and call it a day?
How about we take this to the next level?
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“Things were tough on Friday and over the weekend,” said Comedy Central’s president of original programing Lauren Corrao, who headed the network’s efforts to keep “Sarah Silverman” on the air. “We very much wanted the show, we just couldn’t come to an agreement for a budget that was acceptable and uncompromising to the producers and that we could afford.”
Like every other entertainment company, Comedy Central’s Viacom parent has imposed companywide belt-tightening measures. As a result, Comedy central proposed picking up “Sarah Silverman” at an $850,000-per-episode budget for Season 3, down from $1.1 million for Season 2.
Concerned that the drastic reduction won’t allow them to keep the integrity of the single-camera comedy, which incorporates animation and musical numbers, Silverman and her fellow executive producers Dan Sterling, Ron Schrab and Heidi Herzon declined the offer.
In a surprising twist, Corrao came up with the idea early on Monday to share “Sarah Silverman” with another Logo, which caters to gay, lesbian and transgender viewers.
She called former Comedy Central executive Marc Leonard, now a senior exec at Logo.
After discussing the idea for several hours, Logo’s brass called up their Comedy Central counterparts to tell them they wanted to be part of the show.
Details on how the financial responsibility and the window sharing will be divided between the two partners are still being worked out, but sources said with the combined financing, “Sarah Silverman” will have a budget a tad higher than last season’s $1.1 million per episode.
Logo has run Comedy Central shows before, including animated series “Drawn Together,” but this the first time the two networks are involved in co-financing a series together.
atdleft
This is interesting. So Sarah Silverman will now be on Logo? Sarah Silverman? I guess I’m open to it. I’ve never seen her as a “gay icon” comedian like Kathy Griffin or Margaret Cho (Why isn’t “The Cho Show” on Logo, btw?), but I can give her another look.
Rob
So instead of maybe financing something that had to do with, you know, gays, LOGO decides to put their $$ toward this “comedian” and her stupidly offensive comedy. Got it. One step forward with “Drag Race” and now two steps back with LOGO.
benwa
Whatever, I love sarah.
benwa
oh and logo is on my xbox and since I dont pay for cable I can watch there. good for her, bad for LOGO
rjb
I’d say that Queerty gets closer and closer to folding into GLAAD every day.
The gay couple on the Sarah Silverman Program are really the best fictional gay couple on T.V. right now. It’s supposed to be a joke in the way that the whole show is supposed to be a joke.
I’d prefer to see Queerty posts on just how silly LOGO is and how that could be improved.
Logo, Comedy Central, MTV.. etc, they are all owned by the same company. To me this doesn’t seem like such a stretch. It doesn’t bother me.
I’m more concerned with why Logo isn’t using their cash on shows that are worth a damn. If they were the funds wouldn’t be there to spend on Sarah’s show.
Gregoire
This show stopped being funny however. You can only hear Sarah Silverman say ‘doody’ so many times before you want to puncture your eardrums.
Ken
I could not agree more about Logo. I do not understand why a pay station censors shows and movies for language and content and has more commercials than a broadcast channel.
It seems every time I look to see what is on it is “The Bad Girls Club.”
screw Logo (and Sarah Silverman)
Banjee
This guy has been on Logo a few times and is really funny, I dont know why they dont give him a show:
my so called gay life
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-1bEMDo9ak
Mike
On a side note, I’ve never been a huge fan of scataological humor, so I’ve not really watched much of Sarah Silverman; however, I was eating with a friend at Canter’s deli on Friday evening, when S.S. came into the deli with her mother (well, that was my assumption, anyway). A fan of hers immediately called out to her, and she ever so graciously approached the table and was positively humbled by the fan’s professed love of her. She was absolutely classy and so kind, and then she locked her arms into her mother’s, and they followed the hostess to their table.
She was, by the way, very tall and far more striking in person than one sees on film or television. She was, and this isn’t coming from a fan, absolutely lovely in every way.
Graham
What’s with all the haters? The Sarah Silverman Show is one of the funniest on TV, has probably done more to reverse gay stereotypes than most of Logo’s original content (though I can’t deny my love for Noah’s Arc!), and simply deserves to exist based on its uniqueness alone. Plus, the network move will probably open the minds of at least a few squares who ordinarily would never dream of watching Logo, and maybe pave the way for more outside-the-box programming on the network. And now the show has a bigger budget to do weirder and more outlandish things! How could anyone see anything bad about this?
P.S. Sarah Silverman is an extremely positive role model for young girls, and therefore deserves a platform! Girls need to know they can grow up to become poop-joke-making, offensive, awkward weirdos and not have to worry about men hating them.
Keith
As far as censoring Logo. I don’t get it either. My sister has it blocked so her precious children don’t get their eyes burned out by god besides her husband finds it disgusting. So I say show all the cock and balls they want.
I also heard the Christian right wanted to boycott St. Jude’s hospital for paying for ad space on logo.
What really pisses me off is Logo has all this money because Marc Leonard won’t spend it. No wonder the programming is crappy and they play the same shit over and over again. Really how many times can you watch Bump! or 365news or Adam and Steve. It seems with all the exceptional and eclectic gay talent out there they could have more variety. Rupaul is a start but I want to see a Varla Jean Merman variety show.
33mhz
This is awesome. I loved the first season of the show but I’ve lost track of it since.
RJB is not kidding when s/he says that the gay couple are the best-written fictional gays on TV. Their humor is relationship humor that doesn’t use traditional gender roles or their “wacky” disruption by gay men as a crutch, and all the usual lazy signifiers of television gayness are gone. These guys resemble people I know: stoners, gamers, the kind of guys who used to watch Mr. Show instead of Friends.
Their fight over trying Tab in particular was dead-on. The biggest criticism I’d level at them is that they’re pretty circumspect about showing physical affection, but even that matches the couples I’ve known who have slipped into bed-death.
hardmannyc
Banjee; Mike Diamon is funnier than anything on TV right now.
Chris
Uh, Logo is NOT a pay station. It’s on basic cable.
remix
i love the sarah silverman program – i think this is great news.
kevin (not that one)
Another huge fan of Sarah Silverman’s here.
I heard she bombed in London, though. And her last few appearances on Jimmy Kimmel were just weird and uncomfortable.
Aaron
I’m with Banjee & hardmannyc- loves loves loves Mike Diamond
http://www.logoonline.com/video/misc/343287/all-fours.jhtml?id=1605408
wake up Logo!
except for rupaul- u suck!
Sebbe
Logo is basic cable in my area as well. I like Sarah and I want to like her show, but every time I have seen it I feel disappointed.
Hey maybe she’ll bring some new viewers (str8) into logo. Could be good for the channel I suppose if they can’t use that increased revenue to fund some good “gay” shows. Like RuPaul season 2.
Sam
I find her gay neighbors actually refreshing. One of the FEW instances that gays aren’t stereotyped into a certain role.
We need more ugly lazy stoner gays, and less beautiful vapid fashion designer gays. : )
Sebbe
@sam – in life or on teevee?
Tonytigger
who cares???!!! this is a stupid move on Logo’s part. Why spend money on a show that is being broadcast on a network that is in more homes?? Sarah Silverman is already on Comedy Central. If anyone wanted to watch it they could watch it there. If it really was that successful on Comedy Central you better believe that they would have coughed up the money. SOUTH PARK & DAILY SHOW have been on for over 10 years. Comedy Central isn’t going to cancel those shows. Sarah was going to be cut because there weren’t enough eyeballs. This Leonard guy sounds like an idiot. Glad to finally here a name attached to the awful programming decisions at Logo. Leonard should consider a new career. TV certainly isn’t his calling.
Jack
Wow, Japhy. You’re a classy writer. Calling people who are more successful than you douchebags and idiots because you don’t have a good grasp of the material (i.e. queer culture) is right up there with your ace journalism on other sites. (For those of you who don’t know who this nobody is, just Google him. His self-indulgent rants are on all the best C-list blogs.)
You might find Sarah Silverman’s neighbors a “joke”. Hell, even the actors themselves have made comments about the irony. But many of us find them refreshing as opposed to the tripe that sites like this one try to package up and force feed us as “gay culture”.
If only TV executives could be New Media Douchebags like you, Japhy, TV would be wonderful. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSP8xm_gaK4) Why, if only they could all start blogs, perhaps they’d even be valid humans and one maybe, just maybe, they could be New Media Douchebags like you.
Jack
@atdleft: I don’t think of Sarah Silverman as a gay icon particularly either. I do think it’s a good idea for Logo, though, because of the two non-conventional gay neighbors (who are not side characters in this ensemble cast) and Officer Tig, a lesbian character featured in several episodes.
QMuser
I think Logo working with another network is actually a good idea. Logo has slowly been coming into its own as a channel. I think given the current economy it makes sense for the cable channels to team up. Far from being a douchebag, think all parties involved made a wise business decision.
Cole
Japhy is right. I worked at Logo a few years back and Marc Leonard was a douchebag. He knows nothing about gay life. He doesn’t embrace what most gays would be interested in. You can see by what is programmed that he is clueless. There were some smart people at Logo, but they got fed up and left.
Jack
@Cole: Says the disgruntled ex-employee who was probably fired.
For what it’s worth, I know several people who work at Logo. All are very happy with their jobs and spend more time trying to be productive than complaining on blogs.
Tania
I freelanced for Logo and I agree with Cole. There were some nice people at the channel, but Marc wasn’t one of them. He had this air or superiority that was unjustified. He wasn’t very good at being part of the team. It was all about himself. I remember people in his own department calling him a robot.
Randy214
Logos suxs! It’s nice to know the name responsible for it sucking. This Leonard guy should find a new job.
Jack
@Tonytigger: Did you even read the article? You say “Why spend money on a show that is being broadcast on a network that is in more homes??”
If Logo didn’t help, the show would have disappeared altogether. The people in charge of the SS program didn’t think they could keep up the quality (for better or worse) with the budget that Comedy Central proposed. Maybe you should read the whole thing before throwing personal attacks at easy Internet targets.
Charlie
Having worked for two gay media companies (including Logo) y’all should know that, although not perfect, Logo really does try to reach as many diverse gay people as possible. SSP is an interesting choice for them.
Also, Marc may be a lot of things, including a “robot” to those who may not know him, but he’s no douchebag. And he’s certainly not an idiot.
Rob
@Cole:
Oh, I see. This is the place where ex-employees of Logo can air their dirty laundry. Wow, that’s super pathetic. Almost as pathetic as someone who blogs about TV programming when they have zero knowledge of the industry. Get a job!
skt
What comes around goes around. I can’t imagine a better business decision for a new cable channel than partnering with a popular and profitable business like Comedy Central. The press from this deal and cross channel marketing alone will be priceless for LOGO, not to mention the future co-financing that the channel can expect in return from Comedy Central to support LGBT programs. Sounds like the folks at LOGO are pretty savvy business people, which is exactly what will keep the channel on the air through these tough times.
allaboutit
I think it’s a brilliant move. I love the gay characters on the show. Rock on Marc.
Sebbe
I fast forwarded every time those two irritating ugly stoner gays are on. Hopefully Logo will add some interesting attractive gays to the show. I assume those boys are friends of Sarah’s but if she wants her show to bad bitch.
33mhz
@Sebbe: That would be the perfect way to screw up the show. If this is the way Logo execs think, Logo is pretty much doomed to be the gay version of Fox, squandering one good property after the next through tonedeaf executive meddling.
Sebbe
@33mhz – I’m not sure that attracting the viewers that equate with those two is going to bring in the high end advertisers to logo.
george
Rob, not sure why you think people on here responding to the article don’t know about TV programming. Did you bother to ask anyone their professions? Personally, I have worked in TV for 20 years from major networks to cable. I understand the business reason behind the decision, but what Logo needs is to find its own hit. Borrowing a show from a sister channel that is seen in more homes than Logo isn’t going to bring any new eyeballs to Logo. Isn’t Logo almost 4 years old? They should have had some buzzworthy shows by now. Sounds like the team in place isn’t making the smartest decisions. Whatever the case, word around town is Logo will be gone within a year. Channels breakout and brand themselves with their original programs. Logo seems to only have 4 or 5 new shows a year and only orders 8 episodes. That isn’t enough to break a channel and build an audience.
Geoffy212
Having worked in corporate press for viacom I would say that a couple of postings on here are from Logo employees trying to defend Logo. “Charlie”, “Jack” and “SKT” sound a little too on message.
Landon Bryce
This makes it easier for me to downgrade my cable and stop getting Logo. I see no point in supporting a supposedly “gay” channel when it starts showing programming I find downright nasty in its depiction of gay people. Silverman is brilliantly talented, but her show is pretty awful. It’s very, very sad that Logo has no interest in doing actual gay programming of any quality.
Jack
@Geoffy212: I can assure you that I don’t work for Logo or any other TV company. I’m in web design.
Charlie says that he used to work for Logo, so, um, what’s your point?
Jack
@george: He’s not talking about the commenters. He’s referring to the blogger.
Japhy clearly doesn’t understand TV if he thinks that this deal went down this way. As I said above, I’m not in TV, though (full disclosure) I have friends who are. And I really hate to see cowardly bloggers write stuff like this, then move on the next victim. Notice that Japhy has never responded in these comments.
If you think Logo will be gone in a year, I don’t have much faith in your 20 years of TV experience. Let’s all come back to this post in March 2010. Logo will still be here. Will you?
Also, for the record, I haven’t watch any shows on Logo except for The Big Gay Sketch Show, Rick and Steve and RuPaul. I find the other stuff boring, but I understand why others might like it. But how can you say that Logo doesn’t have any break out hits of its own? Have you never heard of Noah’s Arc or RuPaul’s Drag Race?
Lee Waters
Dear Japhy Grant:
My name is Lee Waters. I’m Marc Leonard’s partner.
The next time you’re in New York, let’s get together, and you can call him a douchebag to my face. Contact me through my website if you have the courage to back up these libelous words.
I’m not kidding.
Sincerely,
Lee Waters
PS – Marc’s not a robot. He’s a cylon.
Randy214
This is a weird chain. I didn’t realize this was jr. high.
Lee, I’m a lawyer and just so you know under the law the words used to refer to Mr. Leonard aren’t libelous.
As a BATTLESTAR GALACTICA fan isn’t a cylon a robot?
David
This article and these comments are no more than an excuse to make a small childish and pointless revenge of some kind. This is so boring and uninteresting to read someone’s else griefs. This whole thing is just pointless.
As a matter of fact I do know Marc from a long long time and I can tell that he is no douchbag and no robot of any kind, in fact he is totally the opposite. I know an openminded, clever and human person. His professional capacities make no doubt at all.
Logo is a brand new company and touch so much people, in such a large pannel you will ever find some one that doesn’t like this show, this decision or the whole thing, you cannot be liked by everybody, so where is the deal?
Japhy Grant makes an easy thing, he just want to get attention and more readers, but with nothing true it is pointless.
In fact neither Marc, nor Logo deserve this kind of treatment. But what bothers me the most is that neither Japhy Grant, nor few blogger on this thread deserve such kind of attention.
Jack
@Randy214: Libel has more than just the legal definition, including “a thing or circumstance that brings undeserved discredit on a person”. I’d probably be pissed if someone called my partner a douchebag on a public forum for no apparent reason, but I probably wouldn’t ask to meet them. What’s the point in that?
What the hell’s this cylon and robot stuff? I thought we were talking about Sarah Silverman. Yeah, this chain is weird. I think I’ll unsubscribe from the comments now or I’ll be responding forever.
Chuck
Lee, isn’t having sex with a douchebag messy?
Tylertime
Sounds like Logo should do a show called bitch slap and this leonard guy can fight with Japhy.
Jason
A mutual friend of mine and marc’s forwarded me this link.
I have known Marc professionally and socially. The professional connection came first. Professionally, I found “douchebag” to be too kind of a word for him. He is a bully who acts as if he is superior to all. After getting to know him better I realized that Marc (like many gay men) put on a mask to cover for insecurities. i don’t think he got over issues in his childhood and as an adult became a bully to overcompensrate.
socially, marc is as david above describes “human”. He is a nice guy. If professional marc could take a cue from social marc i think the messages on here wouldn’t be so negative.
hibitualmasterbatertosarah
I have jscked it to Sarah’s pic numerous time bout to cum to this one . My girlfriend live it she. Swallows me know king I am looking at Sarah omg I love Sarah and my gf who just drank me dry I would eat her ass too my girl wants to be n threesome with her omg anal as I am staring at her whom plays to b Sarah and I am coming again fuck Sarah I will have came to u a million times. Sexy funny. And beautiful and. y gf sea thnx too we have sex ten times a day. Omg my girl I’m giving her ass llicking I’m coming again