Bravo adds comic to its list for 2004

By DENISE MARTIN

Bravo is adding a laugh track to its 2004 slate.
Cabler has teamed with comedian Kathy Griffin on a one-hour special based on her Wednesday-night shows at Hollywood’s Laugh Factory, revolving around her life as a minor celebrity.
Spec will be the first in a series of quarterly one-person comedy shows the net will produce for next year, Bravo prexy Jeff Gaspin told Daily Variety.
Gaspin, who has been to see Griffin’s show twice, said her Griffin humor should sit well with the hipper auds Bravo has been attracting due to “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.”
“Her whole show is based on her perspective as a D-list star, which is perfect for us, because it’s a different look at arts and entertainment,” he said. “Kathy fits quite nicely with the newer Bravo viewers who are a little younger and a little edgier. My gut just tells me she’s a good fit.”
Show will tape Jan. 9 in Los Angeles
Griffin also is in development with Bravo sister net NBC on a half-hour laffer (Daily Variety, Aug. 8). She’s been doing her standup show “The D List” weekly at the Laugh Factory for more than a year.
“The cool thing about this is I started Wednesdays at the Laugh Factory for fun,” Griffin said. “I didn’t have a job. I had just switched agents. I as just thinking to myself well, they can’t stop me from doing standup.”
Griffin said, among other things, the Bravo special will address her experiences with celebrities of similar status.
“I did a celebrity golf tournament, and it was Chris Kirkpatrick from ‘N Sync, Rachael Leigh Cook and little old me,” she said. “Or I could talk about the time when I did ‘Hollywood Squares’ just to see how drugged up Anna Nicole (Smith) was.”
Gaspin said Bravo will be scouting for other original voices in the coming months.
“We don’t want typical standup talent,” lie said. “We want performance artists. Kathy, for example, isn’t just about standup; she’s about storytelling. And it’s her kind of sensibility that exactly right for Bravo.”
UTA-repped Griffin also hosts NBC’s reality half-hour “Average Joe,” which bows Monday.
Griffin did two comedy specials for HBO and spent four years on Peacock sitcom “Suddenly Susan.” She was also a voice on “Dilbert” and hosted a reality-themed recap show on MTV.

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