Joseph Gordon-Levitt Takes on the Laugh Track

So, we hate the laugh track, right? Yes, we hate the laugh track. But that doesn't mean that how it currently exists can't be changed, remixed, or re-positioned to be something better. Enter: Joseph Gordon-Levitt (because of course) and his collaborative soon-to-be-a-TV-show production company HitRECord. Of course.

JGL, you see, has never been one to wait for the world to change — he'd much rather do the changing. Just look at Don Jon and its attempts to make us aware of our own media-shaped opinions on things. So to take on the television laugh track? Oh yes, that sounds quite good.

For those not in the know, Gordon-Levitt has set up HitRECord on TV! at the soon-to-launch new network, Pivot. There, he will serve as a host of yet another reinvention: this time being the variety show (something the gregarious, talented, and so-charming-it-hurts multi-hyphenate seems well-equipped to do). HitRECord on TV! will feature short films, live conversations, and performances — all of which are getting the collaborative treatment thanks to the production company itself.

Which is where the laugh track comes in: to really make it work, JGL wants you (yes, you! Really! Bask in it: it's probably the only time we'll ever hear such a beautiful statement again) to help in that reinvention by providing your own comedic takes on laughter and applause of varying shades.

So what are you waiting for? Check out the video and then hit record (go ahead, groan all you want) — you're not just doing it for you, you're doing it for the evolution of entertainment. TV science!