Comedy Central has inked a pilot deal with comedian Bill Burr for a project that would feature a weekly rant from him on topical issues a la Keith Olbermann or Bill O’Reilly.
Hosted and exec produced by Burr, the prospective weekly skein, tentatively titled “Purgatory,” would take on a single theme or topic and explore it through Burr’s point of view using standup, sketch and digital shorts, a Comedy Central spokesman said. “Purgatory” will be produced by 3 Arts Entertainment and exec produced by Jeff Cesario and David Becky.
Burr said the series will feature him as a talking head like “Keith Olbermann and Bill O’Reilly … with no reading, no research — just strong opinions.”
The cabler will present “Purgatory” at the Comedy Central Stage in Los Angeles before deciding whether to go ahead with a series order. Network skeins “Mind of Mencia” and “The Naked Trucker & T-Bones Show” were developed in a similar manner.
Burr has previously appeared on Comedy Central in “Chappelle’s Show” and toplined the 2003 special “Comedy Central Presents: Bill Burr.” He will be seen on the network in another hourlong spesh, “Why Do I Do This?,” later this summer.
