Image Credit: Todd Williamson/WireImage.com
$#*! your TV guide says.
Networks have recently greenlit a trio of pilots in contention for fall that share an unusual trait — family unfriendly titles.
ABC has ordered Good Christian Bitches with Sex and the City writer Darren Star, about a reformed “mean girl” who returns home to Dallas, only to find that some of her former high school classmates have remained unforgiving.
The network also approved Don’t Trust the Bitch in Apartment 23, starring Krysten Ritter, a comedy about an innocent Midwestern girl who ends up with a wild roommate from hell in New York City.
Fox, meanwhile, has greenlit Chicks and Dicks starring Zooey Deschanel. It’s described as a comedy about the modem sexual politics between men and women.
Using a profane title is a time-honored Hollywood writer tactic for standing out from the pack when sending a script to studios. This year, however, the strategy may have received a legitimizing boost by CBS putting $#*! My Dad Says on its fall schedule (though not without controversy).
Just because a pilot is picked up with a certain working title doesn’t mean the name won’t change, however. In all three of these cases, a change seems all but certain.
Chicks and Dicks seems a bit crude, even for Fox. Good Christian Bitches is based on the novel of the same name by Kim Gatlin, so there’s some logic to maintaining brand continuity, but would a broadcaster (owned by Disney no less) really opt for a title that combines “Bitches” and “Christian” in the title? Then there’s Don’t Trust the Bitch in Apartment 23 – a title that will definitely have some fans because it’s witty and clearly sells the premise of the show. (It is a bit long, though).
“That is a big debate,” ABC’s scripted development chief Suzanne Patmore-Gibbs told EW about the network’s “bitch” titles, particularly referring to Don’t Trust the Bitch. “We love that it’s provocative and it’s so indicative of the show. The whole show is sort of audacious and slightly off-color, but it’s really relatable. Still, we don’t want to become the `A-Bitch-Company.’ That’s not our big goal.”
Of course, the whole debate is moot unless at least one of these pilots proceeds to the next step and receives a series order.
“We’ll deal with the title,” said one studio insider , “after we get the pickup.”
ehh, this is just a cheap ploy to get people to tune in to what are bound to be subpar and genaric shows.
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Just because its title is provocative doesn’t mean it’ll gain massive audiences. I sincerely hope that ABC and Fox does change the titles.
I love when someone gives an opinion on a program they obviously know nothing about because it hasn’t even been made yet. It is even better when they give their moronic opinions with misspelled words. I suppose Jersey Shore and Dog the Bounty Hunter are more your speed, huh jf?
Doesn’t ABC also have a new show debuting soon called Happy Endings? Let’s hope it’s not about the life of a massage therapist.
“genaric shows”
I just hope the shows aren’t as idiotic as jf. That would impress me.
Calling someone moronic and idiotic just for misspelling a word. Well, in the spirit of the article, F**K OFF YOU C**KS**K*RS!
I would like to buy a vowel, Pat.
Best. Reply. Ever.
hahahahaha! That was funny Terry.
Was that the working title of Deadwood?
She completely annoyed me in Veronica Mars, i hope she’s gotten better.
Krysten Ritter? She’s unbelievable. She was amazing in Breaking Bad.
The name doesn’t matter. They’ll all be cancelled after one season.
My family I are not going to be watching anything with a title like that. Thanks for making the decision for me, so I don’t have to take the time to figure out if something is appropriate for my household. Garbage in, garbage out.
David – Couldn’t agree more!!
I hope they changes the titles of both of those new tv shows because they sound interesting to me, but I don’t want to be watching a show that has that word in the title. They will probably change it but right now they just want some attention to promote their show.
In Vogue… parachute pants, the double belt, shoulder pads, leggings…enough said.
Thanks Nona. That was relevant.
@deedub. It was relevant to the post that I was responding to earlier that has since been taken down.
In the 80′s, shows at least didn’t have stupid names like these.
Sick S%&$. These titles demean women, period, and are profane for kids.
People should not be watching television
I only watch shows that keep it real-profanity does exist in every walk of life – so what?
I don’t have a problem with profanity myself, but some people don’t want to hear it. Is that ok with you?
Don’t bother, Mark is obviously too stupid to understand.
Aside from the fact that I don’t like profanity in titles (It’s a pet peeve of mine, even though it doesn’t make any sense: I’ll accept any swearing in the story itself, just keep it out of the title!), the premise of “Good Christian B**ches” just sounds horribly unpleasant to me. A bunch of supposedly mature, adult women who we’re probably supposed to like are going to be cruel towards a perfectly nice, reformed lady simply because of the way she was as a teenager? Yeah, the show hasn’t been picked up yet, so that might not be the whole story, but, unless the promos make it look better than my expectations, I won’t be watching.
I am not more or less inclined to watch a show based on it’s title. Call them Show A, Show B and Show C for all I care…just make them good. I don’t watch Bleep My Dad Says not because it of the “naughty” word in the title…I don’t watch it because it’s a steaming pile of bleep.