Busy Tonight

Production

On May 1, 2018, E! announced a series order for a late-night talk show hosted by Busy Philipps, with Julie Darmody, Eric Gurian, and Philipps expected as executive producers and Little Stranger as a production company. On August 16, 2018, Caissie St. Onge was hired as showrunner and additional executive producer; the premiere was set for October 28, 2018 at 10 PM, with episodes airing Sunday through Wednesday at that time. On October 25, 2018, Tina Fey and David Miner joined as executive producers and Wilshire Studios became an additional production company.

First-week guests included Mindy Kaling, Vanessa Hudgens, Kristen Bell, and Megan Mullally, with appearances by Jimmy Kimmel, Fred Armisen, and Andy Cohen; other announced first-season guests included Julia Roberts, Kim Kardashian, Tracee Ellis Ross, Camila Mendes, John Stamos, Olivia Munn, Beth Behrs, Lauren Graham, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Emily Ratajkowski, Taran Killam, David Alan Grier, Tess Holliday, and Tom Lenk. On January 3, 2019, the show moved to 11 PM EST starting January 7, 2019, and a live special titled "Busy Tonight Live: Golden Globes After Party" aired after the 76th Golden Globe Awards, with guests Whitney Cummings, Karamo Brown, River Butcher, and Ira Madison III.

On May 5, 2019, Philipps announced the series had been cancelled; remaining episodes aired until May 16, and the series was shopped to other networks but not picked up.

Reception

Variety's Daniel D'Addario gave a negative review, stating the show lacked a clear point-of-view in its first week and that its self-help references and production excesses like the nightly lullaby felt like a search for personality. The Ringer's Rob Harvilla was also critical, calling the show tough sledding except for superfans of Philipps, social-media geniuses, or those who enjoy the adorable baby-deer stumbles of new talk shows.