Silverman's Crass Abortion Tweets: Could They Upend New Sitcom Deal?

Silverman's Crass Abortion Tweets: Could They Upend New Sitcom Deal?

To Sarah Silverman, outrage is the essence of life.

The shock comic loves to upset the cultural apple cart, and her innocent face is the perfect vehicle to share her naughty shtick. But that’s not how things work in risk-averse network TV, and her recent faux-abortion Tweets are likely not doing her any favors regarding her NBC pilot, according to TheWrap.com:

The pilot has a very strong chance of becoming a series when NBC makes its pilots decision this spring. It already has a put-pilot committment, which means NBC would have to pay a hefty penalty if it doesn’t air it….

NBC must know what it’s getting into with Silverman. Picking up the show will be a signal that the network is willing to deal with at least the possibility that she’ll say or do something controversial, on or off the air.

On the “Sarah Silverman Program,” which aired for three seasons on Comedy Central, her character often espoused ethnic and sexual stereotypes. It was an attempt to mock the ignorance of racists, sexists, and homophobes, but some viewers took Silverman’s character at her word, assuming she was just ignorant herself. Or willing to offend people for the sake of shock.

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