BEWARE! NSFW! KEEP THE AUDIO DOWN!
One of our readers passed along this link to a promo that Showtime has started using to promote its well-received lineup. It shows that folks at the network are giddy about their recent success with shows like Dexter and Weeds.Maybe too giddy.
Here's the question: if you were a premium cable channel that was considered always a distant second-best HBO, and you suddenly find yourself in a place to catch up, now that HBO has lost The Sopranos, lost momentum with John from Cincinnati, and with the eager renewal of Entourage, possibly lost its way, would you go for a promo like this?
The TMZ-style ad, which resembles an inhouse gag reel that usually wouldn't get beyond the office, may say more about Robert Greenblatt, the boss of Showtime who's led the revival. "We're reveling in our success at the moment. I hope (the 'best shit on television' tagline) becomes something people start saying," he says. ""We thought it was really fun and really ballsy. We didn't think twice about putting it on our air."
Remember, Bob's first decisions as boss was to keep Penn & Teller's Bullshit and commission a Reefer Madness musical and then go for the marijuana-themed Weeds.
"The best shit on television?" Isn't that a "weed" reference?
Good move for Showtime? What do you think?
(By the way, the song comes from the NYC improv group, Centralia.)