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Did Greg Behrendt Really Steal Sloane Crosley’s Cake Show Title?

We were concerned last week when we saw that IFC’s upcoming programming slate included a show in which comic Greg Behrendt interviews fellow comedians called There Might Be Cake. After all, shouldn’t someone over there have known about Sloane Crosley’s 2008 best-selling book of humorous essays I Was Told There’d Be Cake — not to mention the fact that HBO bought the TV rights to the book?

But we did a little digging and found out that Behrendt has been making the “there might be cake” joke since at least 2004, and it’s basically one of his signature jokes — and decided it was a straight-up coincidence and not worth getting worked up about.

But today, “Page Six” announced that Behrendt had “taken” the title , without mentioning his history with it (the first result in a Google search for those terms), so we have to point it out. (Research is important!) Crosley, (who is, full disclosure, a friend), for her part, is handling the copycat title graciously, telling “Page Six,” “Well, I didn’t invent the word ‘cake’ or the craving for it.”

We think the titles are too similar to coexist on TV, though if Crosley’s show is picked up by HBO it will be a much bigger deal than an IFC comedian interview show. Basically, Greg Behrendt and IFC need to go back to the drawing board on this one. Crosley’s next book of essays, How Did You Get This Number?, comes out in June. (You know, if Greg Behrendt is looking for a title for his next project.)

Greg Behrendt Takes Sloane Crosley’s ‘Cake’ [Page Six/NYP]
IFC Unveils Programming Slate [HR]

Did Greg Behrendt Really Steal Sloane Crosley’s Cake Show Title?