Sarah Silverman affectionately describes her returning Comedy Central show, “The Sarah Silverman Program,” as “pubes with heart.” While this may seem both meaningless and crude to the Silverman newcomer, fans of the deceptively innocent-looking comic will be happy to hear body hair is but one of many edgy topics Silverman will be tackling in the upcoming third season of her Emmy Award-winning comedy. And in a recent conference call, Silverman didn’t clean up for the press — she spoke unabashedly about her work, her politics, her sometimes controversial comedy and her belief that kids today are fat.
“I think that we’re moving in a really exciting time for comedy. When things are tough in the country, comedy gets better, so it’s bittersweet,” Silverman said, in what would be her most serious statement of the afternoon.
She said the third season of “The Sarah Silverman Program,” which returned last night and will continue its two-night premiere this evening at 9:30 p.m., has some of the show’s best episodes yet. Upcoming episodes include Silverman suing Mongolia for rape, repeatedly running over Osama Bin Laden with her car and helping her sister cope with a devastating emotional loss.
“Laura shaves her pubes, but it’s heartbreaking because her bush was her memory of our mother. Honestly, it’s so sweet,” Silverman said. “Pubes with heart. If I had to describe the show: pubes with heart.”
Speaking to Silverman about her work, it’s clear the perversely witty humor in her words is the key to understanding the racial slurs that litter her standup and the scatological stories that comprise this year’s episodes. Even Silverman admits to touching on taboo topics but explains doing so isn’t only about the cheap laughs.
“We’re focusing on just being funny. And along the way, if the audience infers things that benefit their lives or even provoke thought, that’s great, but mostly it’s a lot of shit jokes — cerebral shit jokes. The first episode … you can look at it and say this is just about diarrhea and wet dreams. But to me, the first episode is about corporate America creating problems and then marketing solutions. …You can see it at a very base level, or you can decide to see a little more.”
And Silverman thinks what some critics construe as racism in her comedy, such as the comparisons she makes between a black man and an elderly Jewish woman in her video for pro-Obama website The Great Schlep, is the result of people missing the self-satirizing point
“There’s a difference between people reacting to buzz words and people listening to the context of the joke and seeing that the butt of the joke is always myself. I’m the ignoramus of the joke,” Silverman said.
But Silverman isn’t an “ignoramus” outside of her routines and lately has devoted some of her comedic efforts to encouraging political involvement and supporting Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama. The Great Schlep encourages Jewish grandchildren to visit their Jewish grandparents in Florida in the hopes of convincing those Floridians to vote for Obama, and Silverman is both the voice and face of this effort. She believes encouraging grassroots support for her candidate of choice by prompting a few laughs is a way to combat political apathy.
“It wouldn’t hurt to try to change a few minds. This is the year where young people of any age — voting age or younger — can make a huge difference in the world. It’s bizarre. It’s pretty exciting. … This is an opportunity to get people involved in the world they live in. Put down the ‘Halo 2’ for two fucking seconds.”
Of course Silverman didn’t just want to talk about politics, but she did have a few last words about why today’s youth need a push to act from groups like the Great Schlep.
“I’m not old but I think this new, younger generation has a danger of being really lazy entitled dicks. … Each generation gets raised by the generation before them. … There has to be some kind of balance. I’m not saying make things hard on your kids — you want to give them everything. First of all, you’re all fucking fat. It’s not like the fat kids get teased; you’re all the fat kid. …You’ve gotta change that right? What am I talking about? I should be plugging my show!”
And Silverman did talk a lot about the new season of “The Sarah Silverman Program.” She also emphasized how challenging and rewarding it was to get to this point in her career. After beginning to do stand up at the age of 17, Silverman eventually joined the writing staff of “Saturday Night Live” and later appeared on a series of television comedies and sitcoms. And these shows guided the trajectory of Silverman’s career.
“I was able to have a small part peripherally on a lot of things that were very culty. I just tried to learn stuff all along the way and really understand what I want in life … a two-dimensional nothing character I’m not interested in. I’d rather be on Comedy Central doing my own show and having it be just how I want it to be without compromise. So that being said, I’m the poorest celebrity you could ever meet. But it’s worth it.”
