On Thursday, May 16, E! Entertainment aired the final episode of Busy Philipps’ late-night talk show, Busy Tonight. The show ran for over 100 episodes, with A-list guests taking a seat on the couch of her living room-esque set. From Mindy Kaling to Julia Roberts and her BFF Michelle Williams, Busy’s guests consistently cranked out talent after talent.
Each night had somewhat of the same formula of Busy talking to the camera, walking through the fake set, kicking off the show with trending news, all before segueing into her the guest appearances. Every now and then, there would be special performances, how-to cooking segments, or just plain fun. How can anyone forget the epic reunion of the White Chicks cast and the performance of their iconic club dance?
The cancellation of this show is a huge miss for E!, whose network is widely associated with Keeping Up with the Kardashians and Total Bellas. In other words, the network has a lot of reality television. Every now and then, there are reruns of their daily news show, E! News, and, of course, the movies programmed to run. However, when you take those out of the equation, what does the E! Network have going for it beyond that?
Busy Tonight was a great step in a new direction for the network, while also still fitting into its current brand. The show pushed boundaries, wasn’t afraid to take things all the way, and more. It felt more like Busy was in the room with you and nothing felt as if I was watching a formal late-night talk show. In short, it was a breath of fresh air for the network.
I think I’m more upset with the network in general. Where are you going with this, E!? This isn’t the first show you’ve attempted to give a go, only to ax a few months later despite strong viewership. Sure, I may be the 10th or possibly the 200th person that will advocate everything they have in support of Busy Tonight, but that’s because you, E!, never gave the show a real chance to stand on its own two legs and become as successful as it could be.
I really hope other networks are out there listening and consider picking up Busy Tonight. Whether it be on another cable network or a streaming provider, someone needs to give this show another chance. Let’s keep the conversation going about period blood and your rocky emotions, because you know what? Your emotions are valid. Busy taught me that one. She also taught me that you can have one kick-ass show with a team full of hardworking women. (Fun fact: way more than half of the staff were women!)
Most recently, Busy has been taking meetings to revive the show. *Fingers crossed*
BRB, putting on my own mister nightgown. I’ll miss ya, Busy Tonight!
Advertisement
Advertisement