Joe Buck Is The King Of Comedy

Dashiell Bennett|published: Mon 1st June, 12:30 2009

In two weeks, Joe Buck arrives on HBO with his new live sports interview show, creatively titled Joe Buck Live. If you think it sounds suspiciously like "Costas Now," the show he's replacing, there's one important difference you haven't considered: "The one-hour show....will be heavy on comedy." Oh boy.

It seems that the network fancies their new host as a bit of court jester and now that he's finally made it to pay cable, Joe "Dice" Buck is ready to bust loose. The network has hired Peter Mehlman (former executive producer for Seinfeld) and Jon Glaser (former writer for Conan O'Brien) to write and produce comedy sketches that will star Buck and wrap around his interviews. Also, the interviews will take place in front of a live audience—filled with celebrities!—that Buck will interact with in order to "showcase his wit."

"The hidden secret of Joe Buck, for those of us who have been around him and seen him perform at the Sports Emmys every year, is that he has a very dry and unique wit," said HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg. "That is something that the American public hasn't seen yet. They'll be surprised and amused."

Gosh, that is surprising (and amusing!) If only the American public had some sort of access to Joe Buck where they could hear his voice and be entertained by it the way industry executives and backstage pass holders have been for so long. I guess he just couldn't find a spare moment to squeeze his dry wit into the 700,000 hours of live television that Joe Buck has personally narrated for an entire nation in the last 15 years. Thank you, HBO, for finally giving the man a forum.

Oh, wait ... I think maybe I have seen that sense of humor before.

HBO will showcase Buck's wit in new show [Sports Business Journal]

Latest