By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Tuesday, August 11, 2015
The Jim Gaffigan you see on his new TV Land comedy "The Jim Gaffigan Show" can be a bit of a doofus. He'll pick fries off a stranger's plate without asking. He'll cover up the fact he prematurely nibbled on a children party's red velvet cake. He'll lie to a priest about attending service without blinking an eye.
"Remember - the real Jim Gaffigan is smarter than the stand-up Jim Gaffigan," said Gaffigan, 49, who is doing a comedy show at Chastain Park Amphitheatre August 16. "And the stand-up Jim is smarter than the TV guy. It's all measured in IQ points. I think there's something fun playing this smart dumb guy."
Elements of the comedy reflect his real life.
In both cases, he has a wife named Jeannie and both versions are understanding, supportive and kind, he said. Real and ficitional Gaffigan are both stand-up comics. They are equally obsessed with food (mmm....cronuts!). The real Gaffigan family did live in a ridiculously cramped two bedroom apartment in Manhattan with their five children, ,as reflected on the show. ("We have moved, but this apartment is based on our original one," he said.)
One big difference: his wife is actually a writer for the show, which was first pitched to NBC, then CBS, before landing at TV Land.
Although being on TV Land means a much smaller audience, Gaffigan is fine with it. "I'm learning so much about TV," he said. "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else right now because of the authority we're given at TV Land that we probably wouldn't have had at CBS."
In his mind, people no longer watch networks so much as they watch shows. They just need to know it exists.
One bonus: TV Land's parent company Viacom agreed to also air his show on sister station Comedy Central, where his comedy specials often land. Combined, more than 1.5 million watch his show live each week.
Texturally, "The Jim Gaffigan Show" is relatively clean (like his stand up) but a bit edgier than TV Land's earlier original fare, which were more traditional three-camera, live-audience sitcoms such as "Hot in Cleveland," "Soul Man" and "The Exes."
In one future episode, he picks up an oversized Bible, a gift for his wife from her Catholic priest, and brings it to his comedy club, where a fan takes a picture of him holding it. The photo goes viral and he suddenly becomes an example of a celebrity who wears his faith on his sleeve. But when he tries to distance himself from the Bible on a talk show, the backlash is unsettling to say the least.
"People who like my stand-up understand my sensibilities," Gaffigan said. "I can approach topics like faith in a respectful but funny way and not alienate Christians or atheists."
Gaffigan - who last did a show here in 2013 at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre - is unfazed performing at Chastain, an outdoor venue in the summer.
"It's not 3 p.m. in the afternoon," he said. "It's great to do outdoor venues. We're doing a lot of them. People can do their thing and be casual and relaxed. They can come with their teenage kids and their mom."
ON TV
"The Jim Gaffigan Show," Wednesdays, 10 p.m. TV Land and Thursdays, 8 p.m. Comedy Central
CONCERT PREVIEW
Jim Gaffigan
8 p.m., Sunday, August 16
$39.75-$86.25 after fees
Chastain Park Amphitheatre
4469 Stella Drive, Atlanta
Buy tickets at www.livenation.com
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