Fox Is Developing an Adaptation of a French Satirical Sketch Comedy … Starring Puppets

Remember the good old days, when the biggest threat facing the American presidency was the accusation that George W. Bush was a puppet president to the legitimately pulseless, hunting accident-prone Dick Cheney? Okay, maybe they weren’t that great, but those times were at least bright enough that Americans didn’t seem politically exhausted enough to merit the development of a show about a literal puppet version of the POTUS. Flash forward to 2018, and oh me, oh my, here we are.

Fox is developing an adaptation of France’s long-running satirical puppet show Les Guignols (The Puppets) for a U.S. audience, according to Variety. The French version of the show—which just concluded Friday after a nearly 30-year run on Canal+—skewered politicians and cultural figures through an assortment of sketches and songs.

Showrunner Ben Silverman is helping bring the yet-unnamed U.S. version of Les Guignols to the small screen. Previously, Silverman helped adapt international shows like Ugly Betty and Jane the Virgin for American TV, and also served as an executive producer on The Office and The Tudors.

The adaptation will be written and executively produced by David Javerbaum, who has won 11 Emmys for his writing on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

Even though Donald Trump (aka, the low-hanging fruit of politically based humor) will be an obvious target for jokes, the show will poke fun at politicians on both sides of the aisle, as well as figures from popular culture. “This is a broad comedy show. It’s not just about politics; it’s pop culture,” said Silverman.

The French version of the show already has puppets of numerous contemporary politicians, with more in the works for the U.S. version’s pilot. Stay tuned for more info, no strings attached.