Chris Gethard is Bringing Something New to Public Access
Chris Gethard, the loveable outsider who makes us all laugh at his pain and his uniqueness, and through that our own, is coming back to cable access. After a four year run on cable television (first at Fusion television, and later at truTV), Chris Gethard announced today to his email list subscribers that he is returning to the public access cable platform that made American weirdos (like us) fall in love with him in the first place.
Gethard’s returning, but he’s not bringing The Chris Gethard Show with him. That’s “still dead as a doornail” he confirmed, “and lives fondly in my memory.”
Public Access is welcoming him back with a brand new series, Chris Gethard Presents. The big homecoming will take place on June 26th, Wednesday night, at 11pm.
The timeslot will not showcase his own talents, but rather the talents of others. Each week, you’ll see some of his favorite comedians and artists. Think of Chris as a development executive incubating shows, and doing it through the freedom and low pressure of Public Access. After all, it’s where Gethard discovered and developed what he calls his “truest voice.”
For anyone who is concerned that this is a step backwards for Gethard, he says “Fuck ’em. Most of the greatest things in my life have started as potentially very bad ideas.”
Chris says the folks at public access (MNN) reached out to him almost immediately after his deal ended with truTV, letting him know that they miss having his New York Comedy as part of their programming.
“I told them that while I don’t think I can host a show at MNN anymore (it would be pretty disingenuous for me to try to somehow reclaim any underground credibility I had back in 2011), that maybe I’m in a pretty unique position to be able to help the people who are currently at the same place in their careers/mindsets that I was back then. I pitched the idea that I might curate a running slot showing off some of the people that I think are doing really balls out, cool stuff in comedy, and that’s exactly what they were hoping to hear,” Gethard wrote in a message to his fans.
Starting on June 26th Chris will hand off a live hour of television to someone he thinks is both funny and unique. Maybe “cut from an odd cloth” or not “getting that mainstream rub that they deserve” or even just someone who needs a home for their most experimental, batshit ideas.
“I want this to be the place where smart comedy viewers go to find that type of cool shit.”
Welcome back!
