TV Land is ready to throw some shade and enter the late-night space.
The Viacom-owned cable network has picked up to series a comedy based on popular podcast Throwing Shade, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
Starring and hosted by Erin Gibson (Parks and Rec, Kroll Show) and Bryan Safi (Modern Family, Superstore), Throwing Shade originally launched as a podcast in 2011 before moving to Funny or Die, which has produced 80 episodes since it was acquired in July 2013. Gibson and Safi, who will star in the TV Land series, completed a 17-city tour for Throwing Shade last summer.
In addition to starring, Gibson and Safi will executive produce the series alongside Funny or Die’s Andrew Steele, Anna Wenger and Joe Farrell, with Charlie Siskel (Review) set as showrunner. The pilot for Throwing Shade was picked up in December.
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Throwing Shade comes amid a major rebranding at TV Land. The network, under Cox, has been focused on reinventing itself with single-camera and younger-skewing comedies after abandoning the multicamera fare (Hot in Cleveland, The Soul Man, The Exes) that helped put the cable network on the map as a destination for originals. To that end, all of its single-camera fare that has been picked up to series has gone on to earn a second season, including Younger, Teachers, The Jim Gaffigan Show and Impastor.
The cabler also recently debuted George Lopez comedy Lopez and picked up Melissa McCarthy-Ben Falcone comedy Nobodies — based on the lives of their Groundlings friends — to pilot. That joins fellow pilots The First Wives Club (based on the movie of the same name) and a comedy inspired by the life of Real Housewives’ Kyle Richards from John Wells. Further down the line, the network is developing a comedic anthology based on cult hit Heathers.
With Throwing Shade, TV Land becomes the latest network to enter the late-night space. It joins TBS’ Conan and Full Frontal With Samantha Bee; Comedy Central’s The Daily Show With Trevor Noah, The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore and @Midnight With Chris Hardwick; HBO’s Last Week Tonight With John Oliver; and History’s Craig Ferguson-hosted Join or Die, among others.
