MTV viewers are about to get some good sex advice.
The new series "Savage U," featuring columnist Dan Savage dispensing advice to college students, will debut Tuesday, April 3 at 11 p.m., MTV announced Tuesday.
Savage, author of the "Savage Love" advice column, started giving out jokey sex advice in the pages of Seattle newsweekly The Stranger two decades ago.
But as his readers started asking increasingly serious questions, the column evolved. It now features counsel on everything from sex toys to relationships to coming out to fighting discrimination.
Savage has also become a popular guest on politically-themed shows like "Real Time With Bill Maher" and "The Colbert Report" thanks to his takedowns of conservative politicians he deems bigoted or hypocritical. He's the man responsible for Republican presidental candidate Rick Santorum's Google problem. (He created an alternative meaning for the then-senator's name after Santorum compared homosexuality to bestiality.)
"Savage Love" has also led to books, a podcast, and the It Gets Better Project, which Savage and his husband, Terry Miller, started in 2010 in response to suicides by bullied gay teens.
MTV aired a special last week about the project, for which people from small-town teens to President Obama have posted video messages promising gay teens that their lives will improve.
"Savage U" will air twelve episodes, each focused on a particular campus and its culture. The schools include the University of Maryland, Ohio State University, East Carolina University, Auburn University, the University of Illinois Chicago, Cornell University, the University of Oregon, the University of Central Florida, Rhodes College, the University of California Irvine, Texas Tech University and Tulane University. The April 3 premiere episode takes place at the University of Maryland.
Savage will be joined on his visits to college campuses by producer Lauren Hurchinson, who will offer a female perspective on sex and relationships and, according to MTV, "rein Dan in and keep him in check."
"'Savage U’ gives viewers something seldom seen on television before: an honest conversation about sex," said Savage. "Sex is usually portrayed as either completely harmless, so everyone should do it, or unspeakably dangerous, so no one should.
"This is a real discussion about sex -- the good, the bad, and the ugly -- with all the risks, the rewards, the fun and the heartbreak that comes along with it. By talking candidly, we’re letting our audience make their own informed choices and feel empowered to seek out what’s right for them."
