Venue: The lower level dining room at Upland, a popular restaurant on E. 26th St. just off Park Ave. South. It's a snug space; it reminded me of a warm brick cabin and a colorfully-tiled New York City subway station, with an opening to the kitchen on one side. Each table had room for one of three celebrity guests: “Documentary Now” executive producer Seth Meyers and actors Hank Azaria and John C. McGinley, both there to talk about their upcoming projects for the network. They all seemed very comfortable chatting with everyone around them. Grade: 4 Jacks
Presentation: A close replay of Comedy Central's effort a few weeks ago, when the channel's talent was front and center in several formats (stand-up/sketches/animation/new show clips). Network executives did get their face time before attendees, generally keeping it short and sweet. “This is a lovely space," noted IFC President Jennifer Caserta. "If this place is good enough for President Obama, it's good enough for you." (Obama and his daughters dined at Upland last year during a visit to the city.) Glancing toward the stairs that lead to Upland’s first floor, a much larger space, Meyers quipped, "If [advertisers] jump in with us, we could play the big room here." (Meyers, second from left, and Caserta, middle, are pictured at top with McGinley on the left, Azaria and Sapan on the right. Caserta is pictured below with Arlene Manos, AMC Networks' President of National Advertising Sales.) Grade: 3.5 Jacks
News: “Stan Against Evil,” McGinley's new horror-com in which demons run amuck, starts this fall. It will be produced in Atlanta, the home base for “The Walking Dead” on sister network AMC. One can only imagine the crossover implications. "What's on the page [of my new series] is so subversive,” McGinley laughed. “It’s Archie Bunker vs. dead ghouls."
“Brockmire,” Azaria's effort in tandem with Funny or Die, will have him playing a major league play-by-play broadcaster on the comeback trail after a public meltdown. He is "a character I've been doing one way or another for 15 years,” Azaria said. “Baseball announcers can say whatever they f---ing want as long as they give the count.">