The Nightly Show needs Kevin O'Sullivan now!

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The Nightly Show needs Kevin O'Sullivan now!

February 28, 2017 - 11:14
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Looking at the Twitter feeds of last night's launch of ITV's late night chat show, The Nightly Show, gave more than an impression to me that ITV have made yet another mistake.

The Nightly Show David Walliams

By Andy Simon @AndySimon55

When I heard ITV were moving News At Ten to 10:30 for a new light hearted, satirical nightly chat show I thought, oh dear.

Thing is; some people are creatures of habit. They don't like change or indeed anything that upsets their nightly routine. So a major change to something which has in the opinion of some viewers been working well enough for years and years, will most likely be met with some resistance?

And looking at the Twitter feeds of last night's launch of ITV's late night chat show, The Nightly Show, gave more than an impression to me that ITV have made yet another mistake.

When will ITV ever learn?

This American style late night chat show hosted all this week by David Walliams who to be fair, is better at writing children's books than being on the telly, did his usual poor unfunny sketches prior to inviting his first victim (I mean guest) Martin Clunes onto the set.

Martin Clunes (Doc Martin/Men Behaving Badly) looked a little uncomfortable sitting there trying to give the impression that he's done all this chatty stuff before.

It didn't work.

I began to think after 10 minutes into this show, "What on earth have ITV done?" Part two of this 30 min farce was even worse.

The Pie Shop sketch was ridiculously unfunny, Clunes was unfunny, and Nina Conti's ventriloquist monkey was equally unfunny. The whole format of this show simply didn't work at all.

The whole show was awful. Why do we try to copy the Americans and when we do, why do we make such a bad job of it?

Let's just leave it to the Americans. After all; they're good at making them, and I have watched a good few for example, Bill Maher's Real Time, James Corden's The Late Show, Jimmy Fallon, The Tonight Show and Larry Wilmore's The Nightly Show.

Yes; full of American humour which truthfully, is very different to ours but they do all seem to work in the USA, and in my opinion, they definitely do not work, over here. Something is missing.

Russell Harty, Michael Parkinson; oh how we miss you.

I can understand why ITV are trying out this new show, if you take into account the poor viewing ratings News At Ten have been getting recently. So trying to appeal to a younger audience who lets face it, get most of their news from their smartphones and tablets anyway would theoretically be a good idea?

The Nightly Show is a brave attempt from ITV of offering something different to late night telly instead of News At Ten's Bongs! Trouble is; there's something missing.

Maybe it's just the presenter; who knows?

The Nightly Show is on our screens for the next eight weeks, and every week, there is a new host. So we'd better get used to it.

Perhaps a better host is what the show needs? No disrespect to Walliams but seriously, I don't think he has what it takes to carry it off. Perhaps the next one might give the show the kick it needs.

Maybe with a better presenter like say, Kevin O'Sullivan, would do the trick. I mean let's face it. Kevin's satirical approach to the news, TV gossip and showbiz in general would I think, work very well.

I wouldn't be surprised if the ratings for this rather poorly copied American late night chat show would skyrocket, if O'Sullivan was hosting, because I personally think a show of this kind needs someone sarcastic, satirical, a bit cynical and clever, with their finger on the pulse of what's really going on, out there.

And who better than a well liked & respected TV Critic & journalist? Go on Kev, give them a call! You couldn't do worse than Walliams.

The Nightly Show continues on ITV1 tonight at 10pm. And I personally think without a decent presenter,

it's going to be a very long eight weeks.
Me thinks I'll just go to bed, with a good book.

Thanks for reading.

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There are 2 Comments

2Sheds's picture

I feel the biggest mistake that ITV have made here (and lets face it there were many to choose from in the first episode alone) was the choice of David Walliams as first host. I am afraid that this man is not funny!

His price for this first shambolic week was around £250,000. We are constantly told that these sorts of amounts need to be paid in order to keep the talent interested and ensure that they stick with a certain channel. However talent is precisely what David Walliams is lacking in.

This is not the first Walliams flop in recent weeks he fronted the pathetic David Walliams and Friends. Does someone at the BBC and ITV see a different Walliams to the rest of us? WHy are we paying these so called stars such extortionate amounts of money for their craft. I would much rather see new talent hosting these shows, than the over-payed clebreties who have been told they are funny and beileve that everything they do must be funny without even trying.

Wonderhorse's picture

Truly awful. Watched the trailers which gave me such a poor impression that I didn't watch it for more than 2 mins. It was terrible and Walliams was useless - he is creepy in the extreme with all that camping it up and face-pulling - ITV must never use him again.