Norton’s New U.S. Home Relaxes the House Rules

Comedy Central’s first hourlong original series promises to be just as irreverent as its predecessor on BBC America. The cheeky Irish comedian hosting The Graham Norton Effect will bring his usual mix of celebrity interviews and often-embarrassing fun to his first original U.S. series, which is taping in New York for a 13-episode run on Comedy Central beginning June 27 at 10 p.m. With Dave Chappelle and the South Park characters as his on-air colleagues, Norton says he’ll keep pushing the envelope, "though the envelope has become smaller—it’s amazing, the ripple over the nipple." "We’re going to make our show, and it will be bleeped and blurred as appropriate," promises the man recently voted the most influential comedian in Britain. "I will probably swear less because it just gets wearing if it’s constantly being bleeped. I guess we’ll find out when we start working with [Viacom’s lawyers vetting] standards and practices. But so far, they’ve been very supportive and are making all the right noises." With Madonna and Bette Midler topping the wish list for his Comedy Central debut—he’s also committed to a stand-up special and hosting episodes of Reel Movies—Norton can’t wait to send up U.S., instead of U.K., pop culture. "In the past, a lot of the stuff that the American audience liked was me talking about the royal family or Tony Blair," he says. "There will be less of that. I’ll be talking about stuff that’s going on here, and there will also be some humor in me not understanding things or not knowing who people are. Hopefully they won’t be guests!" His U.S. fans acquired a taste for Norton when his groundbreaking British talk shows—So Graham Norton and V Graham Norton, both produced for the U.K.’s Channel 4—ran on BBC America. Those shows are now "taking a rest," says a BBC America spokesman. "It’s good for us because it’s less confusing to the viewer," observes Norton of that hiatus on his U.S. launchpad. "Comedy Central was a natural home for this new show."