Sarah Silverman's show The Sarah Silverman Program on Comedy Central has not been picked up for a third season yet. When Comedy Central offered the show a renewal but with a 20% cut per episode, the show's producers and Sarah said no thanks according to
The Hollywood Reporter.
At the center of the holdup is the proposed budget for Season 3. Citing cuts imposed on the network by parent company MTV Networks, Comedy Central had proposed that the trio bring back the WGA Award-nominated show at about $850,000 an episode, sources said, down from the $1.1 million an episode for the show's second season.
In broadcast, single-camera comedies are produced for about $1.5 million-$2 million an episode, and the budget for any series normally climbs from year to year.
Amid the economic woes, ABC Studios and 20th TV asked all of their showrunners to cut 2% of their series budgets. The proposed budget cut on "Sarah Silverman" is more than 10 times that.
Concerned they won't be able to maintain the integrity of the show at the discounted price, Silverman on behalf of the three executive producers, informed the network late last week that they can't proceed with a third season.
If I were Comedy Central I would tell the producers and Sarah Silverman that in times likes these a 20% cut is better than a 100% cut. They should be grateful for the work, not threatening to quit.
I don't know about you guys, but I have I tried to watch TSSP and I am shocked there is that much money put in to each episode because it looks and feels so cheap. And personally I don't think it is funny, but hey that is me.
Hey Comedy Central tell the show take it or leave because there were a bunch of people at yesterday's Roast that are funnier and more deserving of a show.
UPDATE: Sadly Sarah Silverman and her producers got their way and even more money per episode according to The Hollywood Reporter. Logo will co-finance the show, hopefully they will get their money’s worth.
