Originally Published: March 9, 2010, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com)

The efforts of Comedy Central to bridge the gap between South Park and Daily Show on Wednesday nights have been well documented in my column. Starting with Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire, and continuing on to Michael and Michael Have Issues, and Secret Girlfriend. I have previewed all of these shows before they came out and predicted that they were never destined for a long life (although I did think Michael and Michael Have Issues would have lasted a little longer than it did) due to repetitive potty humor and a lack of comical subtlety that people are starving for in today’s overpowering shock value comedy landscape. I think Comedy Central’s latest effort though might finally bridge this seemingly impossible to fill 10:30PM gap.

Ugly Americans, which premieres March 17th at 10:30 PM after the start of the brand new season of South Park, sees a young, optimistic social worker in Mark Lilly hitting the hard streets of New York City in an effort to help new citizens acclimate to the greatest city in the world. But there’s one major catch to this seemingly straightforward concept. Mark doesn’t live in our reality. He lives in an alternate universe New York City where monsters, demons, and people coexist in a hysterically twisted vision of the Big Apple. From regular folks from Croatia to zombies and chicken-men, Mark must analyze each one on a case-by-case basis and try to help them acclimate as quickly as possible before they get deported by his rival, Officer Frank Grimes, who is trying to meet his deportation quota. As if his job wasn’t difficult enough, he must also balance an affair with his she-devil boss Callie (literally, she is a she-devil, with a tail, and horns, and…you get the picture) and deal with the antics of his zombie (again: an actual zombie) roommate, Randall.

Ugly Americans is a refreshing change to what Comedy Central had been pitching into the 10:30PM abyss on Wednesday nights and I think it will be able to find an audience and hold its own. Ugly Americans has its fair share of shock value and potty humor, but it also has enough subtle undertones and room for character development that people can really get behind Mark and his hopeless quest to help the people of his demonic New York. From traversing into Hell to meet Callie’s dad (assumingly accessible via Hell’s Kitchen), to helping Randall buy new body parts as they rot off, the sky is the limit for the possible situations and different twists on classic situations that Mark can find himself in.

The only knock against it is that the animation is average at best, but Ugly Americans is so funny that only the most critical eye (like my own) will pick a little at the animation style. The voice acting and comedic timing is top notch and as long as the writing can keep up to the high bar that is set with the first episode, I can see Ugly Americans serving as the perfect transition from South Park into the Daily Show.

To help prove my point, Comedy Central has also come out with, by far, their greatest flash game yet to coincide with the launch of Ugly Americans. This standard point and click problem solving game is a great way to kill time at work (not that I would know, of course) and get a quick glimpse at some of the characters Mark will have to interact with in every episode.

CLICK HERE to check out the Ugly Americans flash game and get an idea of what it is all about before its March 17th premiere.

So, aside from the usual pints of Guinness and/or green beer you have to look forward to on St. Patrick’s Day, remember: starting at 10:30 PM, you can look forward to the premiere of the next great Comedy Central original show, Ugly Americans, immediately following the premiere of the new season of South Park.

-Ray Carsillo