Corporate Press Release Theater: MTV Adopts Warren the Ape

Greg the Bunny was a weird, highly funny inside-showbiz comedy on Fox in 2002, starring Seth Green, Sarah Silverman and numerous puppets. It was soon canceled, but never managed to completely die, later living on in a series of short movie parodies on the IFC channel. Now MTV is bringing back what may have been my favorite Greg the Bunny character, the pompous, debauched thespian Warren Demontague (see some of his work in the NSFW clip from IFC here) in Warren the Ape, a comedy scheduled for 2010. Are swearing puppets ever not funny? Excerpts from the release after the jump:

Tony DiSanto, President of MTV Programming today announced that MTV has greenlit “Warren The Ape,” the latest in a wave of new scripted series for the network. Set to air in 2010, this character-driven comedy will give viewers an uproariously colorful take on ‘the celebrity reality show genre' and feature a host of celebrity cameos mixed with puppetry.

“Comedy consistently resonates with our audience and we are building a diverse slate that brings an MTV twist to the genre,” said Tony DiSanto, President of Programming, MTV. “‘Warren The Ape' is a live action scripted comedy that tells the tale of an ape trying to revive a career in Hollywood by any means necessary. This show truly has a unique visual style and tone as well as a creator driven voice that is fresh and exciting.”

“Warren The Ape,” a scripted comedy set within a fictional reality show, chronicles the trials and tribulations of a D-grade celebrity puppet. A brash, cantankerous, out-of-work actor, Warren ‘The Ape' Demontague is attempting to clean up his act and scramble his way back into the Hollywood limelight. Having sampled a brief taste of success as a star on the former sitcom “Greg The Bunny,” Warren's life has been in a downward spiral ever since the show got canceled. When the opportunity for his own reality show arises, Warren takes this chance to restore his celebrity status once again.

“Warren The Ape” is produced by Spencer Chinoy, Sean Baker and Dan Milano (who also portrays Warren) who serve as Executive Producers and Creators. George Plamondon and Betsy Schechter serve as Executive Producers for Picture Shack Entertainment and Kevin Chinoy and Francesca Silvestri are Executive Producers for Freestyle. Liz Gateley, Brent Haynes and George McTeague serve as the executives in charge of production for MTV.

A celebrity-reality show within a comedy? I was a big fan of Lisa Kudrow's The Comeback, but always believed it would have been more successful had it been about a filthy-mouthed ape puppet. Now we get to see if I was right!