The great Craig Ferguson will be returning to late-night tv for the 1st time since he left CBS in 2014. The comedian is working on a new syndicated project for Sony Pictures Television. “Channel Surf with Craig Ferguson” has reportedly already shot a pilot episode in the UK earlier this month.
“Channel Surf” will be a very different approach in terms of format than “The Late Late Show.” But we’re sure Ferguson’s irreverent sense of humor will absolutely still be there. Currently, the show will be done as 30-minute episodes instead of an hour. They will feature Ferguson and his friend reviewing some of the biggest tv moments of the week. Yes, the synopsis does bare a striking similarity to the E! series “The Soup,” or even something like Comedy Central’s “Tosh.0,” which applied the same format to viral and shocking internet videos. But it seems Ferguson wants to play around with this idea the same way he did with late-night talk shows.
“I wanted to do ‘Channel Surf’ because I think television is ready for the return of the silly/funny/occasional lip-synching puppet format,” he said. “Also, it’s a TV show which contains clips of questionable moments from other TV shows thus creating a spectacular visual turducken of stupid.” Frankly, we can’t imagine resisting anything that can be called a turducken of stupid.
It also seems the small screen landscape is ripe for a project like this. “With a shortage of sitcoms available for stations, viewers need a place to laugh,” Zack Hernandez, SVP, US Syndication Sales, said. “Channel Surf is that perfect show. Craig shot a hilarious pilot, and we can’t wait to reintroduce our buyers to him and look forward to giving audiences a chance to watch this very funny show.”
“The Late Late Show” production team member, and half of the costumed horse Secretariat, Joe Bolton will be coming back as a writer, along with Richard Easter. No word on Josh Robert Thompson, who played robot co-host Geoff Peterson though. Ferguson is set to executive produce, alongside Tom McLennan.
The pilot for “Channel Surf with Craig Ferguson,” will be shown to potential buyers this week. We’ll keep you posted on news about this project as it develops.
