Wanda Sykes takes on late night
The five white male comics hosting late-night and prime-time talk shows often feel interchangeable. Sure, Dave isn’t Conan, and the Jimmys (Fallon and Kimmel) have their moments. Jay Leno does, too, less frequently on his new show, but the choices are staid.
Fox hopes to change this with “The Wanda Sykes Show,” premiering at 11 p. m. Saturday. Heading to the set of CBS’ “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” where she plays acerbic Barb, and fresh from her latest hilarious HBO special, “I’ma Be Me,” Sykes is exhausted from work and caring for the 6- month-old twins she and her wife have, yet exhilarated. The one-hour show hadn’t taped at this writing, but Sykes, 45, explains the premise to Zap2it.
Will anything be off limits?
No. I told the writers as long as it’s relevant, if I can see why we are doing it, it has to be grounded in reality, let’s not be mean-spirited. I’m not going to just call somebody fat.
What’s the format?
I am going to do a monologue. It will be the big story— whatever the hot story is everyone is talking about this week. I have a sidekick, Keith Robinson. We have been friends for over 20 years. He’s a very funny comic who opened for me on the road. The audience can see me with my real friends. He pushes my buttons.
So you can riff on anything from reality shows to philandering politicians. Then what happens?
Then it’s just a big hodgepodge. We’re calling it “Wandarama.” That will be video clips and photos, doing all of the stories of the week, then a three-minute produced piece, a man-on-the-street or correspondent. This weekend I went to Adultcon, the convention for the porn industry, asking them to go green. What’s wrong with a solar-powered vibrator?
That should be rich territory. After the produced piece, what do you do?
Then a panel. That’s where the drinking begins. There’s a bar onstage. And we will have a panel, a pundit or an author and a celebrity and maybe a comedian. Not straight-on interviews, more about, whatever, pop culture, another pushing the buttons. It will not be interviewing a star about his new movie. It’s a little bit like Bill Maher, but not so stiff, more laid-back. Just hanging out with your friends on a Saturday night. Then we have inappropriate games, such as one game we tested and [it] worked— “Gay, Black or Crippled?”We give you a clue and figure out if a person is gay, black or crippled. It sounds like this is just wrong, but it really opens up a discussion. You get to see the guest’s thought process, basically how we profile and stereotype.
Who would be your ideal guests?
I would love to have Jane Fonda, Chris Rock and Andy Roddick, would be a great panel. Throw Michael Phelps in there.
Anyone you don’t want on?
Jon and Kate, no thank you. And I don’t know if I need to talk to real housewives, but I don’t want to rule anyone out. I am not going to have anyone on if I’m not going to be pleasant.
What is your goal for the show?
To be funny, to have people talking about it. Do people still say “water cooler?” I would love water cooler. Of course, now you just go online. I would love it to be a show people are looking forward to and say, “I can’t wait for next Saturday.”
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