One of the producers of Fox Television's hit thriller "24" is going to take a whack at conservative comedy for the broadcast network's cable property, Fox News Channel. Joel Surnow, co-creator of "24," is creating a pilot that will air in prime time in January. If successful, the channel's fair-and-balanced mix of news and opinion would produce weekly political satire.

Surnow originally pitched the idea of a right-leaning "The Daily Show" alternative as a late-night comedy series for Fox Television, but the network passed on the project. Fox floated it downstream to Roger Ailes, the former Republican strategist who now runs Fox News, 20th Century Television and the Fox stations group.

Originally reported in The Hollywood Reporter, the show's two episodes were confirmed by a Fox News spokeswoman yesterday.

Surnow told Variety that the as-yet untitled show will have a pair of faux anchors, comedians Kurt Long and Susan Yeagley, and will feature man-on-the-street interviews and timely comic news coverage.

"Fox News is always looking for new cutting-edge programming ideas," said Bill Shine, senior vice president, programming at Fox News, in a statement. "We look forward to working with Joel Surnow on this opportunity."

The market for a right-wing talk comedy program is debatable. The nearest recent equivalent, Comedy Central's "Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn," limped along for two years before getting yanked in November 2004. But if the right host (so to speak) can be matched with the material, it could make the show successful, suggests one media agency expert. "I personally think 'Tough Crowd' sucked because of Colin Quinn; he just wasn't appealing," says Jane Lacher, senior vice president, consumer context planner, MediaVest Worldwide.

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