Geeks Rule At Comedy Central

Cable World, Oct 15, 2001 by Will Lee

Comedy Central is making geeks famous once again.

The network that created cult figures out of maladjusted but brainy characters like Trey Parker, Matt Stone and Ben Stein is set to debut a game show celebrating--and encouraging--geeky knowledge of television, movies and music.

Starting Dec. 10, Beat the Geeks will pit contestants against a panel of three resident, self-styled knowledge hounds, each of whom specialize in one showbiz genre. According to Comedy Central SVP and GM Bill Hilary, rotating guest geeks will also have their own areas of specialization, ranging from Star Trek to James Bond to Kathie Lee Gifford. Kathie Lee Gifford?

"These are not people you want to be stuck in a lift with," warns Hilary. "They are incredibly obsessive and some are really arrogant; when someone knows the seventh writer on the third episode of the second season of some show from the '80s, that's more than a little frightening."

Though Beat the Geeks will be appearing directly after the nightly 7 p.m. showing of the similarly contentious quiz show Win Ben Stain's Honey, Hilary says there's a "clear differentiation" between the "general knowledge" aspect of the Ben Stein line of inquisition and Geeks' attention to fine detail.

Meanwhile, the network has also renewed three of its late-night offerings. The gleefully testosterone-flooded The Man Show will return for its fourth season, while two series that debuted in August--the travelogue Insomniac with Dave Attell and the campy Let's Bowl--will each continue for at least one more 13-episode run.

Hilary is particularly pleased with Insomniac's performance and says that it posted a "surprising" 0.6 rating when it was rerun on a recent Friday at 11 p.m., a half-hour earlier than its usual time on Sundays. In fact, the series could be moved to prime time, according to Hilary, "within the next six months."