Sarah Silverman Has Smart Take on ‘Stupid Pet Tricks’
variety.comBrian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Sarah Silverman is taking a new swing at David Letterman’s fondly recalled “Stupid Pet Tricks,” and it would be easy to say something about the comic “going to the dogs” or “hoping the new show has legs.” But Silverman has a lot more in store than skateboarding canines and bubble-popping reptiles.
That’s right, this isn’t your dad’s “Stupid Pet Tricks.” “The stupid pet tricks happen in front of the camera,” says Silverman during a recent interview, but “we wanted to make it kind of a ‘Muppet Show’ where you see behind the scenes.” Every episode has a storyline that might involve a writers’ room with just one human, or Jack McBrayer as a rival host with his own animal program.
Will Ferrell, Jon Hamm, Reggie Watts and Judd Apatow are among the other guests who take on roles within the program. Even Letterman makes an appearance.
The show “has layers to it,” says Silverman — just as “The Muppet Show” or “Sesame Street” or “The Simpsons all have “stuff that kids will love and stuff that parents will understand that will go over the kids’ heads.” And while the original “Stupid Pet Tricks” segment dates back to the earliest days of Letterman’s “Late Night” program on NBC, this show is part of very modern changes taking place with the nation’s line-up of wee-hours favorites.
Read more on variety.com
