Las Vegas Sun

April 24, 2024

Sarah Silverman’s show asks divided U.S. to give love a chance

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Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., and actress Sarah Silverman speak during the first day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia , Monday, July 25, 2016. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Sarah Silverman is out to show that Americans can bridge even their deepest differences and enjoy a laugh as well.

Speaking to a TV critics' meeting Thursday, Silverman said that's the goal for her fall Hulu series, "I Love You, America."

Silverman said the show is intended to be the opposite of an echo chamber, instead allowing Silverman to connect with "un-like-minded people" across America. That's regular people, not politicians, and no mockery will be involved, she said.

The show is intended to be intelligent and moving but also silly, Silverman said.

"Anything smart that's in there will be served in a big, fat, bready sandwich of super, super dumb, because that's how I like my comedy, and I don't like to be told what to think," she said.

The edgy comic acknowledged she knows what it's like to be a target, sharing a few of the crude and insulting tweets she's received.

She's reached out to some of her detractors and found common ground, Silverman said, including with a country singer in Nashville. She said the singer, whom she didn't identify, stays in touch and sends her his new cuts.

"I Love You, America," which Silverman is producing with, among others, Oscar-winning screenwriter Adam McKay ("The Big Short"), is scheduled to debut Oct. 12. It will include studio and field pieces, a monologue and a regularly appearing focus group made up of people "from all walks of life," Silverman said.