There’s just one catch to HBO GO: you can’t use it, unless you subscribe to HBO. But even in putting together this panel, it was hard to find people at top levels who are not white guys. Lewis: I wish it were the case that you could spend whatever you want to spend. You’re trying to be original. Even with Sunny: If you’re building subversive comedy that might take three seasons to really find an audience, how do you do it? Learn more about how the life of her character, Grace, is turned upside down. Drew Barrymore Welcomes Very Special Co-Host: Thank god Josie wasn’t a teen in the age of smart phones. But if this is what our world is going to be, we have to make sure we don’t alienate our content from what a lot of people are asking for. We talk about it all the time. Television is a small part of our business, but it’s such that you can take risks, whether it’s delivering food or doing a cloud backend server for a host of other companies or making television. Saturday Night Live has been under attack.

If you need reassurance or grounds for optimism about the Middle East, you will not find it here. It’s not solely due to the show. How about other formats? But I’m open to a great show if it’s not the same. Plepler reportedly went on, explaining that HBO GO could be packaged with Internet services for “an extra $10 or $15.”.

Weitz: In a world where people are watching things on Snapchat in ten-second increments, the consumer is ready and accessible to any form of comedy, as long as they walk away feeling fulfilled. It’s actually harder to find a broad, smart Silicon Valley–like comedy that is funny. We’ve been left in the dark, it seems — until now. [Laughter. They’re now broader-skewing; they’re not as provocative as some of the FX stuff is. That’s what I love about the subscription model versus ad-supported. If you want the niche-y, out-of-the-box comedy stuff, you go to Adult Swim.

In other words, broad yuks equaled big bucks. Unfortunately, there would be consequences due to making such a move. Obviously, we didn’t build it overnight. What I want now is authenticity. The people making it — [director] Susanne Bier, and I had worked with [executive producer] Bruna Papandrea on a number of things, I love her and she's an incredible producer. by Harrison Weber Jon Stewart will be doing politics with whatever he’s doing, right?

It has to be a mix. The people most responsible for this new comedy boom are, of course, the writers and actors who bring the shows to life. All you’re trying to shake out is who can really deliver what they’re saying and who is the real deal. The nice thing for a company like ours that is smaller is as we get to know everybody involved in the show, they’re going to work on other shows, and that’s how you grow it internally. If you’re building subversive comedy that might take three seasons to really find an audience, how do you do it? Comcast’s recent deal with GE to take complete control over NBC is worrisome enough. But it’s nice that he will be equipped to respond quickly to whatever the tweet of the day is. It’ll be interesting to see how Tracy Morgan’s show, which was at FX and is now at TBS, evolves — or will it? We haven’t made any yet, but we’re actively trying to. I’m sure we all say no to great material all the time for a number of reasons. Kanbar Recommends—join our mailing list to receive weekly selections. If you want patina comedy, you go to HBO. Now you have to event-ize a comedy in the way you do a drama because people have to show up. Right from the start of the HBO mysterious miniseries, it becomes clear that the high-powered lawyer has her finger on the pulse — she is, after all, the one who delivers the shocking news of the aforementioned murder (of a fellow school mom) to Grace in the premiere. “Comedies used to try to be everything to everyone, all the time,” says Samie Falvey, the chief content officer of an upcoming Verizon–AwesomenessTV premium-content service, who during her decade at ABC oversaw development on a slew of successful sitcoms that delivered on the old mandate, including Modern Family, The Middle, Last Man Standing, and The Goldbergs. We have not done as well with diverse, ethnic points of view. Weitz: We’re all competitors, but even when I was a studio guy, I remember you didn’t take the same pitch to all networks. How do you think President Trump is going to affect comedy, and are you thinking about that? HBO has long been known for dishing out cult TV shows like Curb Your Enthusiasm and Sex in the City — along with recent hits like Game of Thrones and Girls.

Keep updated by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, Kanbar Recommends. It’s not even the biggest incentive. Bloys: There’s no one way. More

We’ll pay real TV rates, we’ll pay actors their [regular fees], and they can come in and work for a couple weeks, and move on. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Archer even — those were shows that were distinct, but they still felt like big-laugh shows that were aiming for broad audiences, long runs, and maybe even syndication. Amazon has blown that up, and the people who complain are the ones who are edged out of these categories.

Bloys: Jon Stewart has been setting up this entire operation to respond quickly to things going on. My guess is they would. We had spent seven years before that trying to find either a blended-family show or a black-family show or an immigrant-family show. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. My thing with short-form content has always been, there’s so much of it out there that it’s kind of undifferentiated. Make it look like a feature film.” And that’s just not the business we’re in. [A producer with an idea] can walk into Netflix, walk into Amazon, [and hear], “What do you want to spend? Even with these barriers, however, the convenience of streaming is starting to erode the benefits of traditional television. Is it 11 minutes? Kevin Costner and Diane Lane Give the Elegiac. Now, some of those might be people who have a history of making films or TV shows that have been successful.

Samie, you and your bosses at ABC sort of made diversity seem almost effortless. Lambert: The internet has revolutionized comedy. You can’t do everything at once. So I think that relationship means a great deal to her. Start! But the truth is that she doesn't even know how much it means to her until what happens, happens.

Weitz: … the five shows that preceded it, except Samantha Bee. The Gatekeepers of TV Comedy. Following a trail partially blazed by IFC (Portlandia, Documentary Now!

Does Sylvia have any of her own and will they be revealed over time? Bloys: As Kate was saying, a smart, hard-funny show is still the hardest thing to do. I’m personally trying to work with the best filmmakers and creators. Do you agree with my premise that the business model of comedy has changed?

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