A Programming Parody

In an upcoming episode of “Beggars and Choosers,” Showtime’s satire of the TV industry, a public and politically incorrect faux pax by one of the stars of the series’ fictional LGT network accidentally offends the Asian American community.

“Because of this, the network has to put in development an Asian sitcom,” says executive producer and co-creator Peter Lefcourt.

“It is one of the ways of placating the outraged Asian community. So in the series we go through the entire exercise of developing and putting on an Asian sitcom just because of what somebody said.”

The fun of the series, he says, is that no topic is taboo. “We can tackle any type of subject,” says Lefcourt. “There is no such thing as safe comedy--that’s my theory.”

Even President Clinton’s dog, Buddy, is targeted in the “unsafe” second season, which begins Tuesday.

“We are doing a satire on media circuses,” says Lefcourt. “We have a very funny episode in which the president’s dog gets kidnapped and it becomes an enormous media circus. LGT has to decide if they should preempt their programming for the evening [to cover Buddy].”

“Beggars and Choosers” was one of the last projects developed by the late Brandon Tartikoff, a well-respected producer who presided over NBC for more than a decade before succumbing after a long struggle with Hodgkin’s disease.

Brian Kerwin plays Rob Malone, a character based on Tartikoff. As the programming chief for the struggling LGT network, he provides the series’ moral center. Charlotte Ross is Lori Volpone, the ambitious and cutthroat vice president of development, who frequently has phone sex with Brad Advail (William McNamara), a ruthless agent. Rounding out the cast is Tuc Watkins, who plays the gay VP of talent, and Sherri Saum as Volpone’s arch rival.

Beau Bridges will guest for the first six episodes as the new owner of LGT, a “.com” billionaire named Dan Falco. “He knows nothing [about television],” says Lefcourt. “He is also a Buddhist and the other half is this kind of absolutely ruthless Wall Street tycoon. You never know which side of the gun is going to be firing.”

Kerwin met Tartikoff more than 20 years ago, when the actor was starring in NBC’s dreadful action comedy “Sheriff Lobo.” At that time Fred Silverman was the head of NBC.

“Brandon was Fred’s--I thought at the time--nerdy sort of right-hand man. All of a sudden, Fred Silverman got dumped and Brandon was made head of the network and one of the first things Brandon did was dump ‘Lobo.’ I had a few nice meetings with Brandon and a few casual parties and I really liked him.”

The actor says he tries to bring Tartikoff’s straightforwardness to the role of Malone--”not necessarily always honesty because it is a business where you can’t be completely honest and candid all the time. It is the intention to be straightforward and shoot from the hip whenever you can. You are not a jerk, you are not a mercenary, you are at least human and trying to do your job. That was the thing that Brandon brought to his job.”

Ross didn’t know Tartikoff personally but she remembers receiving a handwritten congratulations letter 10 years ago after she received an Emmy nomination for her work on the NBC soap, “Days of Our Lives.”

“I thought it was amazing for the president of the network to do that,” she says. “The series continues in a loose way the legacy of Brandon Tartikoff because he was a unique executive in TV history.”

Of her tough-as-nails character Volpone, Ross says she’s not based on any one person. “My character and the characters around her I have seen over the years [in Hollywood],” she says. “My character may be in the extreme, but there is a lot of extreme out there.”

After appearing on numerous short-lived TV series such as “The Heights” and “The Five Mrs. Buchanans,” Ross is delighted to be able to push the artistic limits on cable.

“It’s a freedom I have never felt in TV before,” Ross says. “I think that Peter writes me the rainbow.”

Much to her surprise, audiences like Volpone. “It is a real challenge to play somebody, who, on the page, is really unlikable and yet people actually are rooting for her. I take it as a real compliment because, believe me, when you read the scripts she is not likable in any way.”

But Ross tries to show why Volpone acts the way she does. “If you show the reasons for doing what she does or a sadness in her determination, people can understand her and identify with her a bit.”

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The new season of “Beggars and Choosers” begins Tuesday at 10 p.m. on Showtime. The network has rated it TV-MA (may be unsuitable for children younger than 17).