George Lopez is in the midst of a national stand-up comedy tour that runs through the summer — he has four shows over two nights this weekend (March 16-17, 2012) at Best Buy Theater in Times Square — but he has his sights on a return to the small screen for years to come.
Lopez is making plans with Debmar-Mercury to develop a family sitcom to shop to cable channels, under the same 10-90 plan that has been successful for Tyler Perry with TBS, and this year for Charlie Sheen with FX. The 10-90 plan has a network sign on for an initial 10-episode order, with a 90-episode renewal triggered should the series meet agreed-upon ratings benchmarks.
“That format really works if you have visibility, if you have a strong following,” Lopez told the New York Daily News. “It’s a new model, but it’s been effective with people who are a little more well known.”
Lopez recently enjoyed a two-year run in late-night as the host of Lopez Tonight on TBS, and his previous 2002-2007 ABC sitcom, George Lopez, continues to fare well in syndication for Nick at Nite and other channels.
With the exception of Craig Ferguson’s fresh aporapch and the occasional Letterman/guest buzz, late night has been a wet fart for years. Jimmy Kimmel Live is the worst offender. That hideous lump completely stole his format from Not Necessarily the News and The Soup. He cannot funny his way out of a paper bag without looking at a blue card or his teleprompter. And from what I hear, he is the world’s biggest dick to work for, forcing his writers to do tons of free jokes for his various ABC award show gigs Blech! Point is, anyone can host a late night show. So, why not George Lopez? Fuck, why not Nancy Lopez?