Watching Showtime

With Tracey Ullman pulling no punches on her new show State Of The Union, one of her many characters is Renee Zellweger. When asked how she came up with the character, she has been quoted saying, “I just put these eyelashes on and tried to think of Lamb Chop from Shari Lewis.” Rude!!

So it was only a matter of time before Renee was asked what she thought of the impression. Letterman was the first to ask the question, and last week when Renee was on his show promoting her new film Leatherheads, she had this to say in response. “My reason for calling a therapist for the next six months… the reason I’m growing my hair out. Every time I look in the mirror I see Tracey Ullman.”

Here’s hoping Renee was kidding when she said those things, although she’s been open before about her sensitivity to the Hollywood meanness that can happen. I just can’t believe Tracey would have been so callous in how she came up with the character.

• Women’s Wear Daily profiles Tracey Ullman in an article about the “hazards” of comedy. Juxtaposing Ullman’s seemingly normal life to that of many famous male comedians, they discuss her 20+ year marriage to the same man, her ability to live in LA without succumbing to the traps and pitfalls. A great article! (Women’s Wear Daily)
• The Shane/Cherie romp that signaled the official end of Shane’s relationship with Carmen (even if Carmen didn’t know it yet) made the list of TV Guide’s top ten small screen hot scenes, coming in at number 10. While the list was full of “traditional” sexy scenes, it was bookended with a lesbian romp and a vampire-love fight-fest (Buffy/Spike). Good for TV Guide! (Cinema Blend)
• Are you a Natalie Dormer nut? Well, if you create a piece of fan art with her as the subject, you can enter to win a poster of the beauty! (Admiring Natalie Dormer)

Known to Americans for her biting wit and many characters, Tracey Ullman heads to Showtime in a few weeks, bringing her comedy with her. In State Of The Union, she tackles a day in the life of the American people, one character at a time. Whether a woman facing her husband’s death in Texas by moving on to the next inmate, an Indian pharmacist who dances and sings her way through each customer or Ariana Huffington herself, Tracey’s characters bring to life a wide variety of American pesonas.

With a phenomenal makeup team and her flair for dialects, Tracey’s characters do what most comedians’ cannot … they steer clear of racial stereotyping and discrimination. For the most part. It’s a fine line she walks, with her Jamaican caretaker and her Bollywood pharmacist (among others), but after watching the show, I think she does it in the right way. Tracey seems to be commenting on our stereotypes rather than forming her own for the public to view.

I’ll be honest here. I don’t normally like sketch comedy, and I tend to vehemently oppose these types of characterizations. Generally they feel too contrived, too stereotypical, and too close to racist, classist, and sexist for my comfort. But with Tracey, I found myself laughing out loud. Maybe it’s having a British woman under the makeup that made the difference, I don’t know. I do know that her Arianna is hilarious, and her take on immigrant work ethic packs a punch (while making the comments bookend her show, there’s some social commentary hidden away just waiting to be unpacked later).

Unlike any half-hour show brought to Showtime thus far, Tracey Ullman’s State Of The Union will wow you and hook you in. And for those who can’t wait the two weeks to see Tracey take on Showtime, leave a comment to this post with your favorite Tracey character, and you’ll be entered into a drawing to win the first five eps of her show on DVD, sent to you this Friday! The contest will end at midnight tomorrow night (Thursday, CST), so you don’t have much time to get entered!

With The State Of The Union set to premiere on March 30, images are being released of some of the characters Tracey Ullman will be bringing to us. Some of these will be controversial for sure (black face? really?) but most are bound to be hilarious!

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I’ve received this press release from Showtime, and wanted to pass it on to you: 

LOS ANGELES, CA ­ (January 16, 2008) — Emmy® Award-winner Tracey Ullman brings her signature brand of spot-on impersonation and comic timing to TRACEY ULLMAN¹S STATE OF THE UNION, a new sketch comedy series that takes a satirical look at a day in the life of America. The limited series of five half-hour episodes will premiere on SHOWTIME, March 30th at 10:00 PM ET/PT, immediately after the second season premiere of THE TUDORS in its new time slot at 9:00PM ET/PT.

“I have always loved Tracey Ullman ever since I was a young development executive at Fox when she was doing the original ŒTracey Ullman Show,¹” says Robert Greenblatt, President of Entertainment, Showtime Networks Inc. “She is a one-of-a-kind comedienne and sketch comedy performer, a true artist. We are so proud to bring her to SHOWTIME in a completely new show that will
again showcase what she does best, and in this case, she will be looking at the wide cross-section of Americans and both celebrating us and sending us up.”

TRACEY ULLMAN¹S STATE OF THE UNION will feature a kaleidoscope of original characters and impersonations in a wide collection of irreverent and hilarious skits that range from sardonic parody and social satire to Bollywood musicals. The limited series is a snapshot of modern day America as seen through the brilliant comedic mind of Tracey Ullman. Tracey tackles the country¹s celebrity-obsessed, 24- hour news culture by portraying a variety of characters from celebrities such as Cameron Diaz, Renée Zellweger, Dina Lohan, Tony Sirico and David Beckham to politicians and pundits like Nancy Pelosi and Arianna Huffington. Additionally, Ullman has created a new line-up of original characters that reflect a cross-section of American society from an Indian pharmacist to a homeless woman without health insurance to a soldier on temporary leave from Iraq.

Allan McKeown and Tracey Ullman serve as executive producers for the series. Bruce Wagner and Gail Parent serve as producers. The series is produced by Shawn Wilts and Troy Miller serves as director.