“Shit My Dad Says” started as a twitter account. Some comedy writer named Justin Halpern supposedly wrote down funny things his cantankerous, potty-mouthed 74-year-old father would say to him after he moved back in to the old family abode. The twitter page took off as so many other stupid internet things do, and was compiled into a book.
The book (published by Harper Collins) is mostly just a collection of the tweets, but is described as a “memoir”. The website is the tweets, a book push, and a blog written by Justin. At 176 pages, the book has stayed on the New York Times Hardcover Nonfiction Best Sellers List for 15 weeks, and is currently at #1.
Now it has been picked up by CBS as a sitcom starring William Shatner and MadTV’s Will Sasso. The show will premiere September 23 at 8:30/7:30c as $#*! My Dad Says, because like the book (published under the title ____ My Dad Says and Sh*t My Dad Says) the big whigs are afraid of offending people and losing profits. It’s really ridiculous to try to tone down the title when almost all of the tweets have a curse word (mostly “shit” itself) in them.
Now I completely understand why the “Shit My Dad Says” twitter account became so popular. It is mildly amusing with quotes like, “See, you think I give a shit. Wrong. In fact, while you talk, I’m thinking; How can I give less of a shit? That’s why I look interested.” and “Don’t focus on the one guy who hates you. You don’t go to the park and set your picnic down next to the only pile of dog shit.” But I don’t understand the landslide popularity. I do know that Harper Collins specifically scheduled the release date of the book to coincide with Father’s Day as a (successful) attempt to come out of the gate with high sales numbers. What dad wants a crummy tie or another “#1 Dad” coffee mug? Even my own dad was the first one to bring this tweet/book to my attention, though I doubt he has read it.
Photo from cbs.com
I have a terrible feeling about this television show, however. You cannot base an entire t.v. show around a handful of funny quotations. I worry this show will just be another terrible canned-laughter sitcom that will last longer than it should, like King of Queens (or get cancelled immediately, you never know) .
Regardless of all the hype and noise, the success of a hardcover book born from a twitter account is an important change in publishing. It opens up the possibility for all web content to make the leap offline and into bookstores. Who knows, maybe someday I’ll come up with a twitter account idea that’s worth millions. Maybe something like, “Shit My Teenage Sister Says”. Entry number one: “:::glare:::”
Maybe not.
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