NBC has unofficially announced the new Late Night host to succeed Conan O'Brien in 2009, and (surprise) it's not a woman. Jimmy Fallon has signed on to be O'Brien's replacement, while Conan will move up to 11:35 p.m. to replace Jay Leno, whose contract is expiring. Looks like this means NBC will be continuing the grand tradition of male hosts in their late-night lineup. Now if you would all grab your calculators, let's see what this brings our tally of females currently in late-night TV to: One.

That honor goes to Chelsea Handler, who has a 30-minute talk show on E!.

Handler is the only woman in television to host a night-time talk show at this time. A rare honor, Handler joins a very short list alongside Joan Rivers as being the only female comics to host a late-night show. If we take out our trusty calculators again and add these figures together, that brings our grand total to two female late-night talk show hosts. Ever. In the history of television. Two.

For whatever reason, networks seem to think that women are more funny to more people when the sun is out. Rosie O'Donnell and Ellen DeGeneres have both won multiple Emmy awards for their daytime talk shows and have an enormous audience base stretching across all demographics, yet their shows never air before dinner time. … continue reading

Who you calling unfunny? Vanity Fair took its sweet time, but after more than a year of letting the anvil of an essay “Why Women Aren’t Funny” weigh down the discourse, the magazine finally issued its own rebuttal with its April cover story, “Who Says Women Aren't Funny?” And to prove that point, it assembled some of the most sparkling female wits for a photoshoot with famed photographer Annie Leibovitz.

Yes, Amy Poehler appears to be grabbing Tina Fey’s boob. You really can’t argue with comedy genius like that. Answering the call to funny alongside them were Sandra Bernhard, Susie Essman, Jenna Fischer, Chelsea Handler, Leslie Mann, Maya Rudolph, Amy Sedaris, Sarah Silverman, Wanda Sykes and Kristen Wiig. I’m going to need a moment to soak in all this concentrated hilarious. Seriously, my sides are starting to hurt from phantom laughter just looking at them.

In response to (resisting the urge to use a profane adjective) columnist Christopher Hitchens’ decidedly unfunny article about why women are the unfunnier sex, New York Times TV critic Alessandra Stanley has penned a footnote-worthy essay that touches on everything from English novelist George Meredith to Virginia Woolf to tribes in Papua New Guinea. To which I say, sure, but where do the rubber chickens fit in? … continue reading

I should stop saying that I couldn't love Sarah Silverman more. Because almost every time I come across a new photo or quip, I end up loving her more.

Her latest instance of lovability is the cover story in the February issue of Wired, "Why Things Suck!"

Silverman helps the Wired editors rant about such sucky things as plastic packaging, Evite, air travel, whiteboards and subscription cards in magazines like Wired. … continue reading

In the spirit of full disclosure: I love Sarah Silverman.

She’s hot, she’s brilliant and she makes me laugh — even when I feel a tinge of guilt about it.

Take this season’s first episode of The Sarah Silverman Program. In the first few minutes, she meets two women she mistakes for “angry lesbians.” When the women explain they have husbands, Sarah responds, “Oh. Were you styled by angry lesbians?”

That was my first of many giggles during the show.

But not everyone appreciates scenes like this one near the end of the episode, in which Sarah wistfully recalls her three abortions. … continue reading

The next two days are going to rock. Or are they going to thirty-rock?

Tonight, try Pushing Daisies on ABC, brought to you by the creator of Wonderfalls. I thought the pilot was excessively cutesy (despite the presence of the awesome Kristin Chenoweth and Swoosie Kurtz) and, well, just kind of dumb. I rolled my eyes so many times, I'm still trying to get them unstuck.

But Sarah and Lori liked it, and so did plenty of critics, so don't listen to me.

On Comedy Central, Sarah Silverman does her cutesy-as-satiric thing tonight on the second season of her show. Now that I can get behind. (If only.)

And tomorrow on NBC — I'm telling you now because you can't possibly prepare early enough — Tina Fey is back with her own cuteness and genius on 30 Rock.

It's good to be alive.

No, this isn’t a personal ad, but if I ever sign up for match.com, I will totally use that headline. I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With is an indie film starring Jeff Garlin of Curb Your Enthusiasm plus two of my favorite funny ladies, Sarah Silverman and Bonnie Hunt.

The plot of Cheese — Garlin plays an actor/improviser named James living at home with his mom and looking for love — doesn’t get points for originality, but the movie got positive buzz at last year’s Tribeca and L.A. film festivals. Part of the appeal is that Garlin, who also wrote and directed the film, makes himself the butt of jokes and takes advantage of the comedic styles of his costars.

Silverman plays Beth, the counter girl in an ice-cream shop, who encourages James with a conversation full of sexual innuendo and an invitation to go shopping for kinky underwear with her. (Thankfully, the shopping trip is part of the film.) Making Beth the lecherous flirt is a welcome twist on the usual macho courting ritual.

In contrast, Hunt plays Stella, a slightly awkward schoolteacher who shares James’ love of jazz. Stella is more suited to James, but not as titillating as Beth — although we apparently get to see Hunt in a tight leather outfit. Sounds good to me. I love me some Bonnie Hunt, no matter what she’s wearing. … continue reading

Annie Leibovitz is possibly the best, and certainly the most famous, celebrity photographer around. And whether she is shooting for editorial or commercial use, I always pay attention to her gorgeous images. So when the Gap rolled out its new fall “Classics Redefined” campaign, I took a peek. And, once again, wow.

The array of famous (and somewhat less famous) faces posing in sweater vests, wide-leg trousers, French-cuff shirts and the like are actors Selma Blair, Lucy Liu, Regina King, Liev Schreiber, Forest Whitaker and Ken Watanabe; musicians John Mayer and Puffy AmiYumi; comedian Sarah Silverman; director Davis Guggenheim; designer Marcel Wanders and dancer-choreographer Twyla Tharp. (See them all here.) … continue reading

One of the most common traits people list in the "about me" section of their online profiles is "I like to laugh." Really? Gee, you're special!

Well, if you like to laugh, you'll want to catch Oxygen's 50 Funniest Women Alive countdown show, which premieres this Saturday night. The special will feature never-before-seen interviews and clips of hilarity from sitcom players, stand-ups, movie stars and sketch comedians such as Ellen Degeneres, Whoopi Goldberg, Mo'nique and Teri Hatcher.

Teri Hatcher? Uh, what? Was Kathy Lee Gifford not available?

Okay, Teri Hatcher is a fine actress - Desperate Housewives fans please stand down. But if we're talking about the top, the best of the best, I have to object. Other "funniest women" on the show (according to the website): Amanda Bynes, Regina King, Chelsea Handler. What? No Carol Burnett, Roseanne Barr, Kathy Najimy or Wanda Sykes?

Comedy has historically been the playground of men- any list of top comics (usually compiled by a man) is usually so bereft of women, you can count their names on one hand. I'd expect a better list from a women's network.

It's not clear whether Carol and Wanda made the cut-all 50 names aren't shown on the website. We can only hope.

Meanwhile, here are some of my picks, were it up to me.

I haven't had time to watch the MTV Movie Awards yet, but Dorothy Snarker has the scoop on her blog. Sarah Silverman's shaming of Paris Hilton is getting all the buzz online, but I'd rather watch Sarah not-kiss Jessica Biel:

(The clip is after the cut.) … continue reading

I don't like Maxim. I don't mean I find it offensive (well, I do mean that, but not just that). I mean it bores me. I like my women a little more complicated and a lot less infantilized.

But I should have known that Sarah Silverman would find a way to take the yawny Maxim formula and twist it into something special. (Yes, I realize the photo and production people had a hand in this too, but I'm just going to give Sarah all the credit because that's more fun.) These are from the June 2007 issue.

Let's start with the requisite "schoolgirl" photo:

I know I just said I despise the infantalization of women, but look what Sarah's done: This isn't necessarily a kid. It might just be a roller-skating weirdo from the '70s. And a klepto at that. What's she stealing? A can of soup?! … continue reading

Last week we told you that Sarah Silverman would be handing out the MTV Movie Awards on June 3rd, but weren't yet sure to whom. Today MTV announced the nominees:

Best Movie: 300, Blades of Glory, Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan, Little Miss Sunshine, Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Best Performance: Gerard Butler - 300; Johnny Depp - Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest; Keira Knightley - Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest; Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls; Beyonce Knowles - Dreamgirls; Will Smith - The Pursuit Of Happyness

Breakthrough Performance: Emily Blunt - The Devil Wears Prada; Abigail Breslin - Little Miss Sunshine; Lena Headey - 300; Columbus Short - Stomp The Yard ; Jaden Smith -The Pursuit Of Happyness; Justin Timberlake - Alpha Dog

… continue reading

Comedian Sarah Silverman (Jesus Is Magic, The Sarah Silverman Program) will host the upcoming MTV Movie Awards on June 3 in Los Angeles.

Apparently, a Higher Power (no, not the show's Executive Producer, Mark Burnett) is behind the decision. Silverman said, "The other day I sat down too hard and sprained my labia majora; I'm OK, but I took it as a sign from God to host the MTV Movie Awards."

Silverman also told reporters just a little about her extensive preparations for the hosting gig. "I'm getting ready, I'm exercising every day, and I do 10 push-ups, I do eight sit-ups, and then I rinse off. ... I want to go just a little bit too far. I'm training for this the way what's-her-face trained for T2." … continue reading