Onion News Network

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For the internet site, see The Onion#The Onion News Network.
Onion News Network
Onion News Network logo.jpg
Format Parody
Written by Alexander Blechman
Lang Fisher
John Harris
Peter Koechley
Carol Kolb
Dan Mirk
Michael Pielocik
Will Tracy
Chris Sartinsky
Jack Kukoda
Directed by J.J. Adler
Will Graham
Starring Brian Huskey
Suzanne Sena
Kyla Grogan
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 20 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time 22 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel IFC
Original run January 21, 2011 (2011-01-21) – December 9, 2011 (2011-12-09)
External links
Website

Onion News Network is a parody television news show. The show premiered its ten-episode first season on January 21, 2011, at 10:00 p.m. EST on IFC.[1][2][3]

In March 2007, The Onion launched The Onion News Network, a daily web video broadcast that had been in production since sometime in mid-2006. The Onion invested about $1 million in production and hired 15 staffers to focus on the venture.[4] Carol Kolb, former Editor-in-Chief of The Onion is the ONN's head writer; and Will Graham is the showrunner and Executive Producer. It is implied on-air that the ONN show "FactZone with Brooke Alvarez" is "simulcasted" on IFC Friday nights at 10pm ET.

IFC announced that it had renewed Onion News Network for a second season on March 22, 2011, with Season 2 presented by Acura.[5] Season two premiered on October 4, 2011.[6]

It was announced on November 14, 2011 that "Onion News Network" was moved back to Friday Nights at 10pm ET as part of its "IFC Always On Fridays" block of shows. Season 1 aired on Friday nights at 10pm before moving to Tuesdays for the first 3 episodes of Season 2 and has moved back to Friday nights beginning with the November 18, 2011 episode

On March 21, 2012, it was announced that the show would not be returning for a third season.[7]

Contents

Cast [edit]

Matt Oberg is currently the only actor to appear on two different television shows produced by The Onion. Oberg portrayed Mark Shepard in Onion SportsDome which aired on Comedy Central until its cancellation in June 2011 and currently portraying the "tenth" Tucker Hope on IFC's "Onion News Network"

Guests [edit]

Rachel Maddow and Mike Huckabee appeared as themselves in the fourth episode.[8] Ben Stiller appeared as himself on episode 9, in a fake PSA for "Shaken Man-Child Syndrome"[9] Glenn Beck appeared as himself on the November 1, 2011 episode involving a fictional PBS Frontline documentary about Brooke Alvarez's checkered past which in part may explain her on-air icy demeanor. Glenn stated that while auditioning for the part of anchor of "FactZone", He implied that Alvarez cut off his brakes and his car ended up in a ditch.[10] Ted Allen appeared on the "Today Now!" special, showing how to cook a dish from his new book "Pretentious Foodie Bullshit." [11]

Critical reception [edit]

Onion News Network has received generally positive reviews from television critics. Michael Deacon of The Daily Telegraph described it as one "glorious blizzard of absurdity and bathos",[12] while Jack Seale from Radio Times called it a "densely packed, highly intelligent comedy you’ll want to watch for a second or third time".[13] Neil Genzlinger of The New York Times wrote that Onion News Networks makes other satirical news programmes "sluggish by comparison", before going on to say: "If the longstanding SNL segment is a sort of introductory course in wringing humor from headlines, and Mr. Stewart's 'Daily Show' is the advance-level class, 'Onion News Network' is graduate school, requiring much quicker thinking and a greater tolerance for comfort-zone invasion.

Zoe Williams of The Guardian gave a mixed review of the first episode, stating that, "even by the opening credits I was smiling so much I had a sore face". However, she was critical of the programme content. "Persistently, where the programme could rip into one thing, it instead chooses something more peripheral, more candyflossy," Williams wrote. Williams criticised a sketch relating to racism in the US judicial system, saying: "This is the kind of thing Jon Stewart could say with one eyebrow or the judicious rolling back of his wheelie presenter's chair. It's true, racism in the American judicial system is certainly worth lambasting, but there just isn't the complexity in the issue to warrant a satirical news story that goes on for four minutes." [14]

International airdates [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ Itzkoff, Dave (March 22, 2010). "Fake Area Newspaper Gets Real Television Show". The New York Times. Retrieved January 7, 2011. 
  2. ^ Luippold, Ross (December 4, 2010). "IFC Picks Up 'Onion News Network,' 90s Cult Comedy Series". The Huffington Post. Retrieved January 7, 2011. 
  3. ^ Whipp, Glenn (January 15, 2011). "The Onion makes big TV push". Variety. Retrieved January 21, 2011. 
  4. ^ "Press ‘Play’ for Satire: March 23, 2007 The Wall Street Journal Article". March 23, 2007. 
  5. ^ Seidman, Robert (March 22, 2011). "IFC Renews "Onion News Network," Greenlights Four New Original Series". TVbythenumbers.com. Retrieved March 23, 2011. 
  6. ^ http://www.ifc.com/onn
  7. ^ Luippold, Ross (March 21, 2012). "'Onion News Network' Canceled: IFC Spokesperson". The Huffington Post. Retrieved March 31, 2012. 
  8. ^ [1][dead link]
  9. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4De1ZuuCjE
  10. ^ Glenn Beck on Brooke Alvarez
  11. ^ http://www.theonion.com/video/celebrity-chef-ted-allen-cooks-his-favorite-preten,26571/ Celebrity Chef Ted Allen Cooks His Favorite Pretentious Foodie Bullshit Meal
  12. ^ 'The Onion' comes to TV, The Daily Telegraph article. Retrieved 2011-11-27.
  13. ^ Video preview: Onion News Network, Radio Times article. Retrieved 2011-11-27.
  14. ^ a b TV review: Onion News Network; The Killing, The Guardian review. Retrieved 2011-11-27.

External links [edit]
Main projects
Video productions
Books
Notable people
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