Geico Cavemen Land Sitcom

Trade publication Variety is reporting that a new sitcom based on the Geico insurance caveman characters is being put together for ABC. The as-yet-untitled show would be about the three cavemen dealing with prejudice in modern day Atlanta.

I'm calling it right now: A gay character will almost immediately be introduced and their day job boss will be either black or Danny Bonaduce.

The show will be written by Joe Lawson, the advertising copywriter responsible for the genius behind the Geico ads, but casting is still up in the air. It'd be nice to see the same guys (Jeff Daniel Phillips, better known from the TV series "Standoff" and Ben Weber, better known from the TV series "West Wing") from the commercial get the gig. After all, it was their delivery and facial expressions that really sold the commercial to America. Lawson is also responsible for the Geico gecko and the "Tiny House" insurance spots.

Daniel Rappaport, Guymon Cassady, Will Speck and Josh Gordon are executive producers. Speck and Gordon will also handle directing duties. They recently handled such duties for the new Will Farrell flick, Blades of Glory.

Actress Talia Shire, best known for her roll as Adrian from the Rocky franchise, stars in a current Geico ad as a psychiatrist who counsels one of the cavemen struggling with prejudice. Wouldn't it be swell if she landed a "Dr. Melfi" type of role?

The characters tested the waters outside of their 30-second spotlight by appearing at 17^th Annual Night of 100 Stars Oscar gala at the Beverly Hills Hotel on February 25^th.

The show will most likely kick up a few laughs, but how far can the show actually go before it gets to be to shtick? Will the writers rely on obvious racial humor like many black comedians do? Oh I can only imagine how long it'll take for Al Sharpton to start calling for a boycott.

If you plan to watch this show, leave your hang-ups at the door and enjoy the exploitation of everyday stereotypes.

Sources:
Associated Press, "Geico Cavemen Commercials Being Turned Into a Sitcom" WKOW 27
URL: http://www.wkowtv.com/News/index.php?ID=9845

Associated Press, "Report: Geico Cavemen Will Be Focus of New ABC Sitcom" Fox News
URL: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,256188,00.html

CBS Interactive, "Geico Cavemen Get Their Own Sitcom" The Showbiz
URL: http://www.showbuzz.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/02/tv/main2531626.shtml

Germain Lussier, "Geico Cavemen moving from commercials to primetime" Recordonline.com
URL: http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070302/ENTERTAIN/70302013

Variety, "Geico's Cavemen Getting a Comedy Series" Comingsoon.net
URL: http://www.comingsoon.net/news/tvnews.php?id=19152