David Wain has always thought well outside-the-box, from turning a parody of ’80s summer camp movies into a franchise to an anthology film about the Ten Commandments to ending a comedy at a medieval role-playing festival. But this is one of his weirdest ideas yet: As per Variety, the Wet Hot American Summer honcho is teaming with A.D. Miles, former head writer at The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, on a “daily sitcom” called Today’s Special.
What on earth is a “daily sitcom”? Variety says it’s a show that will “be shot and aired daily.” Whether that means episodes air the day they’re shot or the day thereafter or what is unclear. However it works, it could be an even more quickly-thrown together and therefore most topical program than South Park, which tends to go from creation to television in about a week.
As for what will actually transpire on Today’s Special, it will be set at a 24-hour diner and follow a “diverse group of characters,” staffers and regulars going about their lives “while also reacting to trending topics and the day’s headlines.” Imagine it as a funnier, trendier, possibly less melodramatic soap opera, or maybe something closer to Norman Lear’s surreal soap parody classic Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.
If this sounds too crazy to be doable, you may be right: Wain and Miles have so far only convinced WarnerMedia to give them a pilot and four more episodes — essentially a week’s worth of content, to see if it’s remotely achievable, much less fit for air. If it is achievable, and if WarnerMedia want to fund it over the long haul, it will likely wind up on HBO Max or one of its channels, like TBS. Good luck, everybody!
(Via Variety)
