Last month, Amazon launched eight comedy pilots as part of their efforts to create a number of new original TV series. While many of these came from established TV comedy writers some such as Those Who Can’t came through Amazon’s open door submission policy. Launched almost exactly a year ago the policy allows for any aspiring writer to submit their half hour pilot script for review of up to 45 days. After that time is up Amazon can choose to either let your script go, buy it outright for $55,000, or extend their evaluation period twice for 18 months for $10,000 an extension. In the past year Amazon [...]
Universally beloved media personalities Dane Cook and Justin Bieber are both developing new sitcoms for big TV networks, Deadline and TV Guide report. Cook doesn't have a show yet but he just signed a new development deal with NBC to make a series that will serve starring vehicle for himself. He recently starred in the comedy Next Caller, which was picked up for six episodes by NBC but unexpectedly canceled before it aired because the network was unhappy with the creative direction of the show. "Dane Cook is one of the most talented comedians working today," says NBC President Jennifer Salke. Justin Bieber's show is set [...]
Next summer, Fox is going to air 6-9 episodes of the Short-Com Comedy Hour. What's a short-com? Great question! It's a term Fox made up that means short-form sitcom. The idea is Fox will take four of these short-coms and squeeze them into an hour. But they aren't sketches. Each will be a multi-camera one-act sitcom scene. The network is looking for comedians, primarily stand-ups, who will create, produce, and star in their own mini shows. It's meant to harken back to the early 90s when stand-ups were given multi-cam series built around their acts. The ultimate goal of this show is to find the next Ray Romano or [...]
When television geeks use the phrase “single-camera sitcom,” they’re talking about a certain kind of show. People don’t generally refer to The Brady Bunch or Gilligan’s Island that way, though it’s technically correct — neither show is filmed on a soundstage, there’s no studio audience, and both have a visual style that is closer to a film than to Cheers. The modern use of “single-camera,” though, both the term and the technique, has only really been around since the mid-90s. Or, to be more accurate, since The Larry Sanders Show.
If you’re not already familiar with The Larry Sanders Show, watch a few episodes on Netflix Instant or get [...]
Today, we're kicking off a pretty big and relatively ridiculous project: the Best Sitcom Episode Ever Tournament. We here have gathered up 32 nominations for the single best sitcom episode to ever air (thanks in part to all of your suggestions) and made a bracket. We'll now be pitting all of these classic and future-classic episodes against each other in a single-elimination battle for supremacy, with your votes determining which episode advances and which stays behind.
And I know, comedy is subjective and there's no real "best" episode out there. Some people will find their all-time-favorite didn't even make the bracket. But don't sweat it: this is the internet. [...]
