Can Sarah Silverman Launch the First Successful Streaming Talk Show?
By Laura Bradley. Photos: Getty Images.
The streaming world better gird its loins, because Sarah Silverman is moving in. Hulu has picked up 10 episodes of a series hosted by Silverman and produced by Funny or Die, the streamer announced Monday. The working title of this weekly comedy series? I Love You, America. Yes, we’re guessing things are about to get very political.
Silverman, Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, and Amy Zvi will executive produce the show, which Hulu promises will be “topical” and “discuss the current political/emotional landscape of the country.”
“From inciting treason to telling poop jokes, Sarah Silverman has created her fair share of online chatter,” the press release states. “But with this show she's looking to connect with people who may not agree with her personal opinions through honesty, humor, genuine interest in others, and not taking herself too seriously.”
Uniting a divided America through comedy might not turn out to be this project’s biggest hurdle. So far, no topical talk show has seen great success on a streaming-only platform. Netflix took a stab at entering this space last year with Chelsea, which will return in April for a sophomore season. Handler’s Netflix series failed to sustain much buzz, though, and in its second go-round, it will scale from three episodes per week—aired on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday—to just one, aired on Friday.
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The show’s struggles are hardly Handler’s fault, however. Being the first to try out anything new is always a challenge—and this one is a particularly tricky puzzle to solve. Streaming platforms don’t carry the same immediacy as television, so it’s hard for their programming to maintain the urgency of traditional talk shows—particularly those in the late-night realm. But if anyone can punch things up, Silverman is a good candidate. She has been a prolific late-night guest for years, especially on Jimmy Kimmel Live! (She and Kimmel used to date.) She was also behind one of late-night’s early viral videos, “I'm Fucking Matt Damon” on Kimmel. And Silverman was one of the Internet’s favorite potential picks to take over The Daily Show desk when Jon Stewart was making his exit from Comedy Central. She didn’t end up with that gig but perhaps that's all to the good—we’re guessing the censors on Hulu will be even more lenient than they are on basic cable.
This story originally appeared on Vanity Fair.
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