Updated: June 29, 2018, 11:27 am PT
Former White House spokesman Sean Spicer is in talks with Debmar-Mercury and Pilgrim Media Group to star in a talk show titled Sean Spicer’s Common Ground.
According to the New York Times, which broke the story on Monday, Spicer will interview “some of the most interesting and thoughtful public figures for a drink and some lite conversation at a local pub or café.”
Pilgrim, which is run by Craig Piligian, will shoot a pilot in July and then Debmar-Mercury will shop the show to various distribution outlets, including in first-run syndication as well as to cable networks and streaming services, confirmed a Debmar-Mercury spokesman. Debmar-Mercury, which produces and distributes The Wendy Williams Show and distributes Family Feud, is owned by Lionsgate, which owns a major stake in Pilgrim. Pilgrim produces such unscripted fare as American Chopper, Dirty Jobs and many more.
Spicer came to fame as the first spokesman for Donald Trump’s administration, admonishing the media in his first press conference for, in the administration’s opinion, under-reporting attendance at the inauguration.
Should the Spicer project debut in syndication, it will break a cardinal rule of talk shows, which is to refrain from producing shows that star polarizing hosts.
For example, syndicators rejected Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin as a potential talk-show host after her failed campaign with Republican nominee John McCain in 2008. A later project that would have seen Palin host a syndicated court show never got off the ground, although she did have a stint as a reality TV star and appeared in 16 episodes of Amazing America with Sarah Palin, produced by Pilgrim. In this already fragmented and highly polarized environment, however, Spicer’s name recognition could be seen as an advantage.
Since his departure from the White House – and subsequent replacement by Sarah Huckabee Sanders – Spicer has been engaged in several media ventures, including launching a podcast, titled “Everything’s Going to be All Right,” with conservative writer Katie Pavlich. He also wrote a book on his short tenure at the White House titled, “The Briefing: Politics, The Press and The President” that’s due to come out July 24. He will then go on book tour and be followed by a documentary film crew.
Spicer is represented by WME.
