“Intelligent talk mixed with great silliness.” That’s what writer Glenn O’Brien is going for with the revival of “TV Party.”
The original show, which showcased downtown fixtures like Jean-Michel Basquiat, David Byrne and Debbie Harry, ran for four years in the ’80s on NYC public access and has become something of a cult hit on YouTube.
O’Brien — who has worked at Interview, Rolling Stone and Playboy and writes “The Style Guy” column for GQ — told me he revived the show because of popular demand.
“For years, people were saying, ‘You should bring it back.’ So I did,” O’Brien said.
He’s shot three episodes so far, at Le Baron nightclub, the Lafayette House hotel and PS 1 in Queens. Guests have included his old pal Harry as well as David Blaine, Stella Schnabel and artists Tom Sachs, Nate Lowman and Aaron Young.
Colter Rule, the actor who actually worked the door of many clubs, plays the doorman. Writer Joan Juliet Buck and GQ executive editor Michael Hainey are regulars.
O’Brien said he was inspired by Hugh Hefner’s old show, “Playboy After Dark,” which had “two girls for every guy.” “Everybody wonders what it would be like to go to crazy, party in New York with cool people. That’s what we are going for.”
The show is being shopped — but not to networks. “The content is a little extreme for CBS,” O’Brien said. “We belong on cable.”