LOS ANGELES—Responding to the explosive growth of the U.S. prison
population, WB executives announced Monday that the network will soon
launch a new sitcom targeting the nation's approximately 1.8 million
incarcerated TV viewers.
"America is fast becoming the most jailed nation on Earth, with
prisons packed to capacity and a swamped, inefficient judicial system
that is ill-equipped to keep pace with the ever-growing crime rate.
Clearly, something had to be done," said WB vice-president of
programming Grant Bachman. "And what better way to address this serious
crisis than with the outrageous new comedy In Da Yard!, debuting this week as part of the WB's 'Lock-Down Thursdays'?"
"U.S. prisoners," Bachman added, "represent a powerful demographic
that this nation's entertainment industry can no longer afford to
ignore."
Described in WB promotional literature as "a hysterical look at the
nutty goings-on in a typical American maximum-security federal
correctional facility," In Da Yard! will give the nation's
nearly two million convicts the chance to "follow the weekly adventures
of a zany bunch of hardened killers, drug offenders, B&E men and
wacky, psychotic rapos" just like themselves.
"It's basically a show about living and learning in the '90s in prison," Bachman said.
Advance advertising figures for the show are said to be "very
promising," with several high-profile accounts already secured and
airtime pre-sold for most of the show's initial six-week run.
"U.S. inmates spend more than $5 billion in cigarettes each year,
using them to buy everything from toilet paper and de-lousing shampoo
to playing cards and dice," said Bryce Kelso of Advertising Age.
"They're a prime, untapped consumer market that any smart advertiser
would want to reach. The fact is, every day this vast market continues
to go untargeted is millions more dollars in lost revenue. That's a
harsh economic reality, and we cannot turn a blind eye to it. It must
be faced."
Added Kelso: "Do you realize that the average rapist is out on the street and in stores in just five years?"
The first six episodes of In Da Yard!, WB officials said,
have been extensively focus-grouped on a wide variety of felons at some
70 maximum-security facilities across the U.S. The show has reportedly
scored high among all major prison demographics, from armed robbers to
child molesters.
Particularly popular among focus groups was the debut episode, in
which main character Detroit Ray, sentenced to life without parole for
the murder of his wise-cracking landlord, finds himself desperately
trying to fend off impending group anal-rape in the prison shower.
"It's great, over-the-top physical comedy," WB president Dan Vittolo
said. "And it really seemed to hit test audiences where they live."
Future plotlines include a side-splitting mix-up when Ray's buddy
Jorge pretends to be his "***" to impress a visiting cellmate; Ray
slashing the wrong guard "just because he's too proud to admit he can't
see without glasses"; and a full-blown prison riot "gone totally
haywire."
"I thought there was going to be a riot right there in the screening room after that one," Vittolo joked.
"We feel confident that we can provide the swollen, overcrowded
ranks of the U.S. prison system with characters and situations they can
truly relate to," said Miles Forrest, recent Harvard graduate and In Da Yard!
head writer. "The difficulty of sneaking a spoon out of the cafeteria
to sharpen on a concrete floor; the silly shenanigans that ensue when
someone smuggles in heroin inside their rectum; the overworked,
underpaid guards and their nutty, sadistic foibles; and the goofy
rivalries between warring, tattooed prison gangs—whatever's funny."
What's more, In Da Yard! executive producer Ira Clausner said, the audience for such prison-themed fare will only grow in the coming years.
"The U.S. prison population has doubled in the past 12 years and
will probably do so again over the next 12," he said. "With that kind
of grim reality working in our favor, we can't lose. Numbers don't lie,
and these alarming figures, the result of years of social neglect and
public apathy, paint a very bright picture for the future of the WB."
Vittolo agreed. "The number of U.S. inmates now stands at an
all-time high," he said. "We'd be fools to just stand around and watch
things get worse without lifting a finger to capitalize on the
situation."