''Busy Tonight'' is an American

late-night talk show A late-night talk show is a genre of talk show popular in the United States, where the format originated. It is generally structured around humorous monologues about the day's news, guest interviews, comedy sketches and music performances. It i ...

hosted by

Busy Philipps Elizabeth Jean "Busy" Philipps (born June 25, 1979) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles on the television series ''Freaks and Geeks'' (1999–2000), ''Dawson's Creek'' (2001–2003), ''Love, Inc.'' (2005–2006) and '' ER'' ...

that aired from October 28, 2018 to May 16, 2019 on E!.

Premise

''Busy Tonight'' features "everyone's favorite unfiltered Hollywood best friend giving her hilarious and outspoken opinions on the latest pop culture stories and trending topics with candid celebrity guest interviews and original comedic segments."

Production

On May 1, 2018, it was announced that E! had given a series order to a new late-night talk show to be hosted by actress

. Executive producers were expected to include Julie Darmody,

Eric Gurian Eric Andrew Gurian is an American film and television producer, director and writer. He is the President of Tina Fey's production company Little Stranger. Early life Gurian grew up in West Caldwell, NJ the son of Dr. David Gurian, optician and ...

and Philipps. Production companies involved with the series were slated to consist of Little Stranger. On August 16, 2018, it was announced that Caissie St. Onge had been hired to serve as the series' showrunner as well as an additional executive producer. Additionally, it was announced that the series would premiere on October 28, 2018 at 10 PM and that episodes of the series were expected to air each week from Sunday to Wednesday at 10 PM EST. On October 25, 2018, it was reported that

Tina Fey Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey (; born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and playwright. She is best known for her work on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' (1997–2006) and for creating the ...

and David Miner had joined the series as executive producers and that Wilshire Studios would serve as an additional production company. Furthermore, it was revealed that first week guests would include

Mindy Kaling Vera Mindy Chokalingam (born June 24, 1979),Additional archive on June 25, 2015. known professionally as Mindy Kaling (), is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter and producer. She first gained recognition starring as Kelly Kapoor in the N ...

Vanessa Hudgens Vanessa Anne Hudgens (; born December 14, 1988) is an American actress and singer. After making her feature film debut in ''Thirteen'' (2003), Hudgens rose to fame portraying Gabriella Montez in the ''High School Musical'' film series (2006� ...

Kristen Bell Kristen Anne Bell (born July 18, 1980) is an American actress. Beginning her acting career by starring in stage productions while attending the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, she made her Broadway stage debut as Becky That ...

and

Megan Mullally Megan Mullally (born November 12, 1958) is an American actress, comedian, and singer. She is best known for playing Karen Walker on the NBC sitcom ''Will & Grace'' (1998–2006, 2017–2020), for which she received eight Primetime Emmy Award no ...

along with appearances by

Jimmy Kimmel James Christian Kimmel (born November 13, 1967) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He is the host and executive producer of ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', a late-night talk show that premiered on ABC on January 26, 2003, ...

Fred Armisen Fereydun Robert Armisen (born December 4, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. With his comedy partner Carrie Brownstein, Armisen was the co-creator and co-star of the IFC sketch comedy series ''Portlandia''. He ...

, and

Andy Cohen Andrew Joseph Cohen (born June 2, 1968) is an American radio and television talk show host, producer, and writer. Cohen is the host and executive producer of Bravo's late night talk show, '' Watch What Happens Live!'' He also has a pop culture ...

. Other first season guests were expected to include

Julia Roberts Julia Fiona Roberts (born October 28, 1967) is an American actress. Known for her leading roles in films encompassing a variety of genres, she has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and thr ...

Kim Kardashian Kimberly Noel Kardashian (formerly West; born October 21, 1980) is an American socialite, media personality, and businesswoman. She first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after the sex ...

Tracee Ellis Ross Tracee Joy Silberstein (born October 29, 1972), known professionally as Tracee Ellis Ross, is an American actress. She is known for her lead roles in the television series ''Girlfriends (2000 TV series), Girlfriends'' (2000–2008) and ''Black- ...

, Camila Mendes,

John Stamos John Phillip Stamos ( ; born August 19, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He first gained recognition for his contract role as Blackie Parrish on the ABC television soap opera ''General Hospital'', for which he was nominated for the Da ...

Olivia Munn Lisa Olivia Munn (born July 3, 1980) is an American actress and former television host. After an internship at a news station in Tulsa, she moved to Los Angeles where she began her professional career as a television host for the gaming network ...

Beth Behrs Elizabeth Ann Behrs (born December 26, 1985) is an American actress known for her starring role as Caroline Channing in the CBS comedy series ''2 Broke Girls''. The show ran for six seasons and earned Behrs praise and nominations for the Teen an ...

Lauren Graham Lauren Graham (born March 16, 1967) is an American actress and author. She is best known for her roles as Lorelai Gilmore on The WB/ CW television series ''Gilmore Girls'' (2000–2007), for which she received nominations for Screen Actors Guild ...

Jesse Tyler Ferguson Jesse Tyler Ferguson (born October 22, 1975) is an American actor. From 2009 to 2020, he portrayed Mitchell Pritchett on the sitcom ''Modern Family'', for which he earned five consecutive nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding ...

Emily Ratajkowski Emily O'Hara Ratajkowski (, ; born June 7, 1991) is an American model and actress. Born in London to American parents and raised in Encinitas, California, Ratajkowski began acting as a child before she gained a recurring role on the Nickelodeon ...

Taran Killam Taran Hourie Killam (born April 1, 1982) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He is known for his television work on ''The Amanda Show'', ''How I Met Your Mother'', ''MADtv'', ''New Girl'', ''Saturday Night Live'', and ''Single Parents''. ...

David Alan Grier David Alan Grier (born June 30, 1956) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his work as Bernard on '' Damon'' (1998), as David Bellows on ''Life with Bonnie'' (2002–2004), as Joe Carmichael on ''The Carmichael Show'' (2015� ...

Tess Holliday Ryann Maegen Hoven, known professionally as Tess Holliday and formerly known as Tess Munster (born July 5, 1985), is an American plus-size model, blogger, and make-up artist based in Los Angeles. Early life Holliday was born and raised in Lau ...

and

Tom Lenk Thomas Loren Lenk (born June 16, 1976) is an American film and television actor, best known for portraying the character of Andrew Wells in the television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. Early life Lenk was born in Camarillo, California, t ...

. On January 3, 2019, it was reported that the show would be moving to a new time slot at 11 PM EST beginning on January 7, 2019. Additionally, it was reported that the show would air a live television special titled "Busy Tonight Live: Golden Globes After Party" that was to broadcast immediately following the conclusion of the

76th Golden Globe Awards The 76th ceremony of the Golden Globe Awards honored the best in film and American television of 2018, as chosen by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Produced by Dick Clark Productions and the HFPA, the ceremony was broadcast live on ...

. Guests for the special were expected to include

Whitney Cummings Whitney Cummings (born September 4, 1982) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, writer, director, producer, investor and podcaster. A native of Washington, DC, Cummings pursued a comedy career in Los Angeles after graduating from the Univer ...

Karamo Brown Karamo Karega Brown (born November 2, 1980) is an American television host, reality television personality, author, actor, and activist. Brown began his career in 2004 on the MTV reality show '' The Real World: Philadelphia'', becoming the first ...

River Butcher River Buddy Butcher (born Rhea Harriett Butcher; August 12, 1982) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, producer, and podcast host. Butcher is best known for personal, observational comedy focused on his vegetarianism, feminism, love o ...

and

Ira Madison III Ira Madison III (born July 28, 1986) is an American television writer and podcaster. He is the main host of the Crooked Media podcast ''Keep It!'' He is a former critic at ''The Daily Beast'', ''GQ Magazine'', and other publications. Early lif ...

. On May 5, 2019, Philipps announced that the series had been cancelled, with all remaining episodes airing until May 16. Philipps also stated the series would be shopped to other networks.

Episodes

2018

2019

Reception

In a negative review, ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

''s Daniel D'Addario discussed the show's lack of identity in its first week saying, "talk demands a crystal-clear point-of-view and ''Busy Tonight'' has yet to find that, making its endless references to the language of self-help and its production excesses like the nightly lullaby feel like the antic search for a personality, not the expression of one. Some things about television shows we’ve seen before are worth keeping." In another unfavorable critique, '' The Ringer''s Rob Harvilla was equally critical saying, "''Busy Tonight'' is tough sledding unless you're a superfan of Philipps, social-media geniuses, or the adorable baby-deer stumbles of new talk shows."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Busy Tonight 2018 American television series debuts 2010s American late-night television series 2019 American television series endings English-language television shows E! original programming