Seth and Evan Make Another Porno

Apparently nonplussed by the failure of Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Seth Rogen is heading back to the billion-dollar industry that no one likes to talk about... for Showtime. Mr. Rogen, along with his partner-in-comedy arms Evan Goldberg, is developing an untitled series for the cable network about three floundering twentysomethings who grapple with life and relationships while working in a pornography store. The duo's longtime assistant, Matthew Bass, is set to write and co-executive produce the series. We guess the hope is that by hanging around someone as funny as Seth Rogen, some comedy sensibility inadvertently rubs off. (And no, that's not a porn-related pun.)

The pitch for the show sounds... well, like every other Judd Apatow based rip-off we've seen in the last few years. Still, we guess it's about time that the Apatovian comedy style returned to television. And while Mr. Apatow isn't directly involved in this project, we're sure Mr. Rogen will be a capable fill-in. Plus, the dude has massive clout, so unlike Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared, Mr. Apatow's failed (and awesome) ventures into television comedy, Mr. Rogen's project should stick around for a little while. Expect the usual repertory players to appear here as well; we may be biased towards Jay Baruchel, but this would be a perfect vehicle for him to star in.

This is also great news for Showtime, since they've gotten lapped by HBO during the last year. It's been very easy to take pot shots at the former king of pay cable, but HBO has collected such a large variety of talented people in recent months that it's only a matter of time before they get back on top. Meanwhile Showtime, which seems to get off scot-free, has seen its shows go directly into the tank. With this project, the Steven Spielberg/Diablo Cody match-made-in-bizarre The United States of Tara and Edie Falco's Nurse Jackie, things are looking significantly better for Showtime in 2009. As long as Mr. Rogen keeps Kevin Smith far away from this new series, everything should be fine.