Green's day? Tom Green's Internet show hits TV
Jan 9, 2008, 06:24 PM | by Dan Snierson
Categories: TV Biz
Tom Green is making a TV comeback â from the comfort of his living room. The live daily Internet talk show (at TomGreen.com) that the ex-MTV madman launched from his home in 2006 has also begun airing in six U.S. markets (hello, Houston!) and on a Canadian network (hello, Halifax!) in an eight-week test. While Tom Greenâs House Tonight isn't the first web show to move to the tube (see: upcoming NBC drama Quarterlife), it's noteworthy in that an Internet show is being simultaneously broadcast on TV.âThe thing Iâve tried to accomplish with my shows is to shoot something
ridiculous and just put it on the air, [but] thereâs always been a lot
of hurdles, whether itâs a network executive or various things,â says
Green, whose upcoming guests include Dave Foley and Norm MacDonald.
âThis is the ultimate idea of instant gratification.â
Greenâs operation began modestly two summers ago â with a staff of one and a set built in the living room of his Hollywood Hills home (his kitchen serves as the de facto green room). âIt's definitely the lowest budget of any talk show in the history of television,â he claims. âAnd that's not an exaggeration.â The fledgling show wasn't without its problems â thanks to some pesky technological glitches, several guests had to be sent home â but Green gradually worked out the kinks, and picked up a few sponsors along the way (Bud Lite, Samsung) to help cover production costs. Today, his homegrown operation has grown: Heâs added a handful of staffers and mini-bleachers for a small audience. (As always, at-home viewers can call in and interact with guests via Skype.) Still, Green insists heâs not plotting a run at Conan & Co. âIt's not so much about being a competitive show,â he says. âThe goal is to expand it to the point that I can have the resources to make the most ridiculous nightly show possible within my abilities.â
Not that serious wackiness won't be achieved before then. Green plans to explore the eccentric side of L.A. â and maybe even beyond: âI'd always wanted to do this bit on MTV and they wouldn't let me do it," he confides. " And now that Iâm allowed to do it, I may be too afraid to do it, but Iâve always wanted to try to fly to Catalina Island on a lawn chair with helium balloons attached to it. Of course, the downside is death. But I'm considering it.â
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