Word: hbo
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...expensive mass-market medium, is inherently conservative. And as in any conservative business, executives try to copy past successes. That's why you got so many sitcoms about aimless twenty-somethings who drink suspicious amounts of coffee. But something weird happens when the distinguishing characteristic of the successes--currently HBO's lineup of The Sopranos, Sex and the City, Six Feet Under and Curb Your Enthusiasm--is that they break the mold. What you get is a lot of shows copying not-copying: The Bernie Mac Show, 24, Malcolm in the Middle, Undeclared. You get Innovative...
...expensive mass-market medium, is inherently conservative. And as in any conservative business, executives try to copy past successes. That's why you got so many sitcoms about aimless twenty-somethings who drink suspicious amounts of coffee. But something weird happens when the distinguishing characteristic of the successes - currently HBO's lineup of The Sopranos, Sex and the City, Six Feet Under and Curb Your Enthusiasm - is that they break the mold. What you get is a lot of shows copying not-copying: The Bernie Mac Show, 24, Malcolm in the Middle, Undeclared. You get Innovative...
...feels like a cable show,'" says Louis-Dreyfus' husband and Ellie creator Brad Hall. He means that in a good way. Not, as he says, like "God, it feels like a local public-access show." Says Louis-Dreyfus: "It's a reinvention of storytelling, which a lot of the HBO shows are. [NBC entertainment president] Jeff Zucker realizes that he needs to do something different or else he's out of a job." Zucker was so enthusiastic about breaking the rules that he originally suggested not having commercials interrupt the show. Then he realized that was a much more direct...
...challenge of creating a second successful character while the public is still holding on to the last one, not to mention seeing her or him nightly on syndicated reruns. Louis-Dreyfus and Alexander made fun of exactly that situation on recent episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm, the HBO sitcom made by and starring Seinfeld co-creator Larry David. In one scene, Louis-Dreyfus and David, playing themselves, pitch a show called I'm Not Evelyn, about an actress who can't get work because she's pigeonholed as the character she used to play. Louis-Dreyfus, however, has never pursued...
...abridged season, however, is also an HBO trick, allowing more time to work on stories. But whereas HBO, which is subscription driven, can afford that strategy, it's much harder for network shows. The real money for sitcoms is in syndication, and no one wants to air an old show every night unless there are at least 100 episodes; Ellie would need seven seasons to get there. Even worse, one-camera shows, which require more days of shooting, are expensive. Add to that the creative risks of the real-time premise and the fact that producers Carsey-Werner-Mandabach...