The Sarah Silverman Program: Third Time’s the Charm

Sarah Silverman’s career as a comedienne with a laundry list of credentials and a helpful dose of her trademark “Did she just say what I think she said?” demeanor has helped carve out her path as one of the more well-known female staples in an industry considered difficult to break into by even the most seasoned veterans.

With rather impressive stints on critically lauded HBO series like The Larry Sanders Show and Mr. Show with Bob and David in the 90s, Silverman became a fixture in the post-millennium comedy scene, regularly appearing at Comedy Central celebrity roasts and lending her voice to such fare as Comedy Central’s Crank Yankers and Cartoon Network’s Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Robot Chicken. By 2005, a feature film of her stand-up material, Jesus is Magic, hit theaters with positive reviews, and pushed Silverman closer to household name status.

In 2007, Silverman’s first television star vehicle, The Sarah Silverman Program., debuted on Comedy Central. This Thursday, February 4, marks the third season premiere, and all the eyebrow-raising debauchery and brazen absurdity is as alive and present as ever, much to the relief of fans who have waited 14 months since the second season ended.

The Sarah Silverman Program. focuses on Silverman playing an awkward ne’er-do-well, and quite possibly sociopathic, version of herself. Her “character” is unemployed and constantly mooching off her younger sister (played by her real-life older sister Laura Silverman) and her husband (Jay Johnston). Happy couple and neighbors Brian and Steve (Brian Posehn and Steve Agee, respectively) are also included in Sarah’s bizarre day-to-day antics, some of which have included getting an AIDS test out of boredom, and attempting to marry her dog.

During a recent press conference call with Silverman to discuss the third season premiere and the new ways upcoming episodes have found to test the boundaries of common decency and make us laugh with callow disbelief, Silverman was gracious and forthcoming when pressed for information.

“Aggressively stupid goes a long way,” Silverman said with a chuckle, regarding the creative process she and her colleagues follow when coming up with ideas. Despite her reputation to deliberately “shock” people with the controversial content of The Sarah Silverman Program., she insists, “We never go, ‘What can we tackle this week?’”  Rather, Silverman said, she and her team simply focus on what makes them laugh, and what makes sense within the frame of the storytelling model.

“We aren’t more beholden to shock than story,” she said assuredly. “We never go for shocking if it isn’t funny for us.”

With two seasons under their belts, Silverman said she and her fellow writers and actors are using the third season to explore more concerted production tactics not unlike filmmaking; in fact, further growth and character arc are a clearer presence, especially in the eighth episode in which Silverman said Steve and Brian are given a plotline likely to elicit tears from loyal viewers.

In addition, the third season premiere has a “more cinematic tone” in itself, according to Silverman. After such an ample hiatus, she said it was important to give the dedicated audience “something special”.

However, don’t think Silverman and her crew have completely abandoned the ludicrous, farcical tone that made the show a success right out of the gate. A few things to look forward to this season? For one, Andy Samberg will guest-star as Silverman’s childhood imaginary friend resurfacing as an adult and, according to Silverman, engaging in a “lusty affair” with his former sandbox partner. Also, Ed Asner as a Nazi war criminal, Silverman (the character) making an appearance on Real Time With Bill Maher, a tyrannical new mayor of Valley Village whose platform threatens the union of Brian and Steve, and actor Billy Crudup will stop by along the way to join the festivities.

Silverman is both aware of and grateful for the further success The Sarah Silverman Program. has given her, which includes praise from the industry she never saw coming. In September 2009, Silverman was up for a Primetime Emmy award for Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. When asked if the nomination changed the expectations she and her colleagues had concerning the future of the show, Silverman replied by saying, “We’ve always had high expectations,” but only in terms of creative satisfaction, not professional accolades. In fact, the morning the nominations were announced, Silverman, unaware, slept in and awoke to numerous congratulatory messages on her phone, unbeknownst to her.

The Sarah Silverman Program. will surely continue to delight its depravity-hungry fans throughout the long-awaited third season, those of whom can also catch up on previous episodes when Volume Two of the second season is released on DVD February 9. Cable channel Logo will also re-air episodes, a partnership Silverman said saved the show.

“I know the gays belong to Kathy [Griffin],” Silverman said with a grateful laugh, referring to Logo’s target demographic, and Griffin’s most rabid fan base, “but [without Logo] we would not have had a third season.”

Don’t miss the third season premiere of The Sarah Silverman Program. on Thursday, February 4 at 10:30/9:30c on Comedy Central.

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Photographs courtesy of Comedy Central, Electric Artists, and Vince Bucci.