By Romeo San Vicente
Hot new TV pilot trend: lesbian(ish) sitcoms
Now that it's been properly established that both Sue Sylvester and Coach Bieste are man-hungry heterosexuals, where is a comedy-loving lesbian to turn for representation? Well, for starters, there's Sara Rue, who already plays a lesbian on "Rules of Engagement" and plans to enter "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" territory for a sitcom pilot called "Poseurs." The premise: two straight Manhattan women pretend to be lesbians in order to keep a co-op that doesn't allow roommates. You know how these things happen when you live in a big sophisticated city like New York, right? And the lez-com trend kickstarted by the still-in-development lesbian couple project called "I Hate That I Love You" just added another contender to the mix with "Swordfighting," the latest pilot from gay producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron. That one's about two friendly married couples whose relationships turn upside down when the wives fall in love with each other. Nobody's been cast yet, but at least it's a novel premise with actual lesbian characters. Sorry "Poseurs," but your game is already tired.
Is a major network ready for Sarah Silverman?
Did you ever watch "The Sarah Silverman Program"? That thing was so gay it wound up on Logo after Comedy Central couldn't afford to produce it anymore. In addition to its rotating cast of guests – God, ghosts and cartoon dinosaurs – it also routinely featured a gay stoner bear couple, a drag queen host of a cookie-themed reality competition show and a lesbian cop that Sarah fell for accidentally in one episode. In other words, not the sort of thing you ever see on "Two and a Half Men." So what's up with NBC giving Silverman the green light for a new primetime sitcom pilot? It's happening, but that's all anyone will say right now beyond the loose premise, which is that it will be based on Silverman's own life. Just trust that it will shake up the status quo if and when it hits your DVR, and that it will be hilarious. It's almost as if she's genetically incapable of anything else.
Adam Shankman wants to make 'The Nutcracker' dance again
After the excruciating debacle that was last year's theatrical bomb, "The Nutcracker in 3D," a torturous family film that featured hip-hop-based songs sourced from Tchaikovsky's ballet score and that came and went without making much money or endearing anyone its source material, you'd think that nobody would want to touch it as a movie property for a while. But you'd think wrong. Adam Shankman ("Hairspray" and the upcoming "Rock of Ages") believes that he's the man to send "The Nutcracker" to rehab. His vision involves returning to the book by E.T.A. Hoffman and turning it all into an Alice in Wonderland-style event film for the 2013 holiday season, a family adventure vehicle that, for all we know at this point, will still involve 3D. And there's no mention -yet – of dancing, which is kind of strange considering Shankman's career as a choreographer. Everybody's probably scared of that B-word. More on this one as it develops…
'Tim And Eric's Billion Dollar Movie' will be extremely weird
It's one of the Cartoon Network's few live-action programs and it's also, hands down, the most bizarre show on television. It's called "Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job!" and it defies description. But imagine an American "Little Britain" with no budget, a debilitating head injury and the most scatological humor in television history and you'll be halfway there. Among its jarring cable-access-esque qualities are some of the weirdest drag characters ever, most notably star Eric Wareheim's recurring role as an obese woman involved in a masochistic sexual relationship with her boss, played by Tim Heidecker. Will they appear in next spring's feature length freakout "Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie"? It's anyone's guess, but the 2012 release – in which Tim and Eric are given a billion dollars to make a movie, naturally – will feature the talents of "Awesome Show" regulars John C. Reilly (who once found himself shooting an episode segment in Los Angeles leather bar The Eagle) and Zach Galifianakis (who regularly plays a gay-ish children's drama coach). In other words there'll be no shortage of sexual anarchy to unsettle just about anyone not already on their wavelength. Finally, gay weirdoes, the un-rom-com you've been waiting for.
