How Sarah Silverman's new show plans to take on politics

The brow-raising Jewish comedian has inked a deal with Hulu for a 10-episode talk show.

By AMY SPIRO
Updated: MARCH 29, 2017 14:07
Sarah Silverman (photo credit: REUTERS)
Sarah Silverman
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Sarah Silverman always has plenty to say. The Jewish comedian has garnered a lot of attention – good and bad – for her outspoken comments, in particular during the recent US presidential election.
Now, she’ll bringing it all to a new weekly TV show slated for the on-demand video service Hulu. Tentatively titled I Love You, America, the show will feature Silverman discussing current events and the political climate in America.
Hulu ordered 10 half-hour episodes of the show, but did not specify when it would begin airing.
Sarah Silverman endorsing Hillary Clinton for president at 2016 Democratic National Convention (REUTERS)
“While it’s great to connect with like-minded people, Silverman feels it’s crucial, now more than ever, to connect with un-like-minded people,” Hulu said. The show will be produced by Funny or Die, the production company founded by Will Ferrell.
Silverman, a two-time Emmy Award winner, previously headlined The Sarah Silverman Program, which was canceled in 2010. More recently she played the role of Helen in the TV show Masters of Sex.
Just a few days ago, Silverman was back in the headlines, after the chairman of Republicans Overseas Israel called her a “self-hating Jew” and said she “needs a muzzle.”
Marc Zell, in his Facebook post on the group’s page, linked to a video clip from 10 years ago where Silverman said she hopes the Jews killed Jesus, and that she’d do it again.
Silverman didn’t directly respond to Zell, but she retweeted a supporter who wrote “Look who’s leading the attack on @SarahKSilverman – a colonial settler living on stolen land in the West Bank.”
Silverman was outspoken against President Donald Trump during the election campaign, and even spoke at the Democratic National Convention. While Silverman had supported Sen. Bernie Sanders during the primaries, she threw her support behind Hillary Clinton after she clinched the nomination.
Last year, during the GOP primaries, Silverman dressed up as Adolf Hitler and appeared on the Conan latenight talk show. There, she bemoaned the comparisons people were making between Trump and Hitler: “All these comparisons to Trump, it’s like, it bums me out,” she said while dressed as Hitler.
“Sometimes I watch him and I’m like, ‘Is that how people see me?’” Silverman’s sister, Rabbi Susan Silverman, lives in Jerusalem and is also an outspoken activist. She and her daughter have both been arrested for praying with the Women of the Wall group at the Kotel.
JTA contributed to this report.


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