Why? With Hannibal Buress: “8th of July Celebration!”
Hannibal Buress is a smart enough comic that I’m sure he knew he was offering up potential fodder to TV critics with the name of his new TV show. Because, even though it is only one episode old, I’m still not convinced that the world needs a program like this. And I want to know who thought this was the best showcase for Hannibal’s abilities as an actor and comedian.
The big hook for the show is that it tries to remain as current as possible—filming episodes the day before they air on Comedy Central. Hence the commentary in this first installment about the U.S. Women’s National Team winning the World Cup, jokes about Greece being like a broke philosophy major avoiding creditors and sleeping on Turkey’s couch, and getting tracked down by a “Bill Cosby assassin.” Decent enough stuff, but it’s not like we’re hurting for humorous socio-political commentary, especially on Buress’s parent network.
After reading the extensive article in the New York Times about how Comedy Central is working to make sure each of its series has a really long tail, in terms of virality, I couldn’t help but see the rather creaky concessions being made to draw in an audience well beyond this first episode’s airdate. There were appearances by more well-known TV personalities, including Conan O’Brien, James Corden and Amy Schumer, and pieces that seemed blatantly framed for repeat viewings on YouTube.