LA Comedy Writer

It used to be that cable was the last stop for ancient sitcoms, where nerdniks would tune in to watch 24 hour news channels, or weather patterns. Such is the case no more. Cable stations are frequent award-winners, attracting high-profile actors such as Holly Hunter, Jada Pinkett-Smith, and Al Pacino. The quips most quoted might come from Jon Stewart as easily as Jay or Dave. A censored South Park episode makes headlines. In short, up is now down, black now white. Cable TV is no longer the wicked stepchild of the major networks, and proof will come at the 2010 The Cable Show, a convention being held in Los Angeles from May 11-13. All the bigwigs from cable will be there, but what caught my attention were the other executives scheduled to attend: Les Moonves of CBS, Stacey Snider of Dreamworks, and Twitter founder Evan Williams.

It doesn’t take a genius to see the impressive lineup is evident that cable networks that show original programming (such as TBS, TNT, Showtime, HBO, and USA) have now become players in the entertainment industry. Viewers no longer automatically check the networks first, then cable stations for the best shows. In fact, my current viewing habits are approximately 70/30 in favor of cable. I’ll be at all three days, reporting on the stars in attendance, and the trends for the future. Now, I normally look forward to a convention about as much as a visit to the proctologist, but, as a working writer as well as a reporter, I’m curious to see where the industry is heading.

Among the events also slated: a Battle Of The Bands featuring Band From TV (a band featuring TV favorites), and a huge reception at NBC Universal. This show might be as exciting as the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas. Look for my daily reports.