“The Onion” Takes Satire to Television

“The Onion” Takes Satire to Television

Television News

By our guest blogger, Joe Oliveto

Providing loyal readers with a steady stream of hilarious fake news stories for years now, The Onion has become synonymous with satire. In the world of print, it’s been the uncontested champion, with the back-to-back “The Daily Show” and “Colbert Report” serving as the primary sources of satire on television. However, that could change soon; USA Today reports that The Onion is expanding to TV with two new shows that are designed to expose its patented brand of humor to a wider audience.

First we have “Onion SportsDome,” on Comedy Central, which promises to lampoon the rumor-mongering that some ESPN programs (which shall remain unnamed) seem to wallow in. It’s a smart move on the part of those in charge; Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert both have their loyal fans because they are good at what they do, and a new show devoted to that kind of political commentary would have to deliver tremendously in order to get an audience. By focusing on sports, they’ve already found a niche.

There’s also “FactZone With Brooke Alvarez,” which will be less widely seen as it is set to air on the Independent Film Channel. Our guess is that this program will be less successful, and not only because it will by default have a smaller audience. The concept is that an attractive talking head will report on the kind of ridiculous news stories that The Onion is known for. It seems a little straight-forward and probably won’t be very successful.

What the writers for these shows need to keep in mind is that “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report” are so popular because, while they provide some nice, light entertainment, they also give us real insights into political issues. They aren’t quite legit enough that you can get away with getting your news from them, but they do make substantial statements about our society.