Word came in from Comedy Central last night that they’re going to pass on DSTW.  As far as rejections go, it was a great one, so I can’t complain too much.  The VP of Original Development called me himself to break the news, saying he thought we really had something great here, and he felt bad passing on it.  He explained that we’re a victim of timing… that he had tried to pair us up with The Gong Show (which premieres shortly) as a sort of crazy game show power hour, but that they already had another show ready for that same purpose.  He asked me to keep him updated, and passed along a few suggestions for places to continue this pitch.  He also made a point to say he’d still pass the tape around, and that it received a great reception from some folks very high up on the chain over at Comedy Central.

Our consolation prize is that we have a lasting contact with the VP of Original Development, made a good name for Blewt! over there, and could likely get their ear if we polish up another pitch a year from now.  And if The Gong Show and Reality Bites both tank, maybe we can swoop in again and test the waters.

Don’t get me wrong… I’m not as elated about this rejection as I sound.  It sucks.  I think we were very close to something we didn’t expect to get this close to, so it’s all the more frustrating to have it yanked away.  But it was yanked in a very positive and friendly way, laced with a thick silver lining.

Also, there’s Plan B.  Plan B!  And it goes into effect today.

Before we even set foot in LA, we were offered a deal by a group consisting of folks from Syd Vinnedge Productions (The Price is Right) and a production group called 2Radicall (UK’s QuizMania).  The terms basically stated that they’d have the exclusive right to pitch and sell Don’t Spit the Water for 6 weeks.  They’d primarily pitch it in Australia, Canada, and the UK.  At the time we passed, hoping that we’d be able to sell it on our own at one of the meetings we already had set up.  I met with them when I was in LA, though, on the CBS lot.  We hung out in the Price is Right trailer and chatted about our shows, their shows, and the future of television.  The next day they attended the show, and were still interested in working a deal.  They had lunch with our manager a week ago, and kept in touch to check on the status of the Comedy Central deal, reiterating that they really think they can sell this show overseas.

So that’s our Plan B.  We have a couple other domestic pitches (MTV and Cartoon Network) that we’re working on setting up, but hopefully we can work out a deal with these guys in the next week and have ‘em work their magic with their overseas contacts.  There would be something pretty neat about having an Executive Producer credit on a show I can’t even watch.

So that’s that.  It would have been nice to get the other type of call last night, one that ended in travel arrangements.  But even getting this far is a nice feather in Blewt!’s cap, and a stellar entry into a game that treats most people a lot worse.