Comedy Central has ordered a pilot to turn the satirical women’s website Reductress into a late-night talk show.
Former “Saturday Night Live” actress Abby Elliott is slated to host the potential series, titled “The Reductress Hour,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. The iconic website ― known for its sardonic headlines like “8 Sex Positions That Will Blow His Mind And Destroy His Penis” and “Woman Quits Job To Hydrate Full-Time” ― has become the women’s media version of The Onion since it was founded by Beth Newell and Sarah Pappalardo in 2013.
The potential late-night show will reportedly include highlights from the week’s news, original interviews and segments. Elliot will be in character when hosting the show, which will ironically “embody the tone of women’s media,” THR reported.
Newell, Pappalardo and Elliott are executive producers for the series, along with JAX Media’s Tony Hernandez, John Skidmore, Brooke Posch and Genevieve Aniello.
In an interview with Vulture earlier this year, Pappalardo and Newell discussed the tricky balance of using satire in women’s media.
“It can be tough. We try to satirize things without putting other women down, and that can be a little tricky when certain people are doing really insane things in media,” Newell said.
Pappalardo added: “And a lot of it is just being as specific as possible in our satire, especially when it’s on touchy subjects or specific people. We’re not out to broadly demonize most women or people that we criticize, so we try to make sure our writing is specific and tight and not just a broad demonization. Unless it’s deserved.”
If the pilot goes well, “The Reductress Hour” would be one of the only female-led shows on Comedy Central. “Broad City,” which is entering its final season, and “Inside Amy Schumer,” which is on hiatus, are the only other female-led comedy shows on the network.