I was post-partum when Busy Tonight was on air and it was the only thing I looked forward to. (I have a hard time with sleep deprivation.) I really needed Busy's "I love you" at the end of every show, let me tell you I was not hearing it many other places. Busy Tonight is my favorite show of all time.
Thanks for sharing this, Caissie! I’m in Australia too and like Belinda said above, it’s not really a thing here, we would watch your late-night shows (and daytime shows for that matter) a day later! I loved ‘Busy Tonight’ SO much. I still have some episodes on my DVR!
Love this post. You always make me wanna have a conversation with you and obvi i can't so my friends and family have to suffer. Your points would have never reached me in late night (just like I couldn't figure out how to watch busy tonight from the uk) but I love the fact they reach me this way and isn't this a pars pro toto.
The whole “late night” thing fascinates me because it’s not really a thing here in Australia. I remember growing up in the 80’s and 90’s, we had one variety show called “Hey Hey It’s Saturday” but even as a kid, I didn’t find it funny. Now, as an adult, I can see how problematic it was.
One thing I will say is I think our comedy scene is a lot more female friendly. It’s not unusual to see a 50/50 split at festivals. Female comedians are regularly on panel shows. And they give as good as they get. Maybe it’s a cultural thing because down here, we know women are fucking hilarious 🤷🏻♀️🤣🤣🤣
Ugh, sounds like heaven! I knew about "Hey, Hey It's Saturday" because at The Rosie O'Donnell Show one season we had an Australian writer who had come from that show! He wasn't there long, though. I lost track of him.
Oh boy, then allow me to tell you about the time on the gong show style segment of Hey Hey called, 'Red Faces', Harry Connick Jr walked off live TV after a contestant came out in black face.
But not before very calmly stating how atrocious it was to the when cast, crew and audience.
Well said, Caissie. Your perspective as a woman who has lived in this white male dominated world gives you great credibility. I don’t know if it will be late at night but I look forward to more shows produced, written, hosted by people who have been excluded from this particular entertainment format. It kills me that the writer couldn’t manage to grab a quote from all your insight. Indicative of the problem we are still up against. I hope Samantha Bee does something great for her next act. I will miss her show deeply.
The moment where nobody in the audience has cable is like when Rose says in Titanic: "Don't you understand? The water is freezing and there aren't enough boats." As usual, you and Busy have incredible instincts and are able to pinpoint little moments that tell larger, unfolding stories. You see the damn icebergs.
Thank you for sharing this Caissie, I always love reading and hearing your stories and the answers you’ve written for the article are articulated in your unique style. I love how open and honest you were, but also being considerate of others. When you watch a late night show (especially the ones hosted by white men) do you ever think that they are ‘repeating history’ with the same jokes in the same format of hosts and shows of days gone by? Surely something has to change at some point.. But I suppose the TV networks ‘know what’s best’ 🤷🏻♀️
I have to be honest, I don't really watch that often, because it doesn't hold my interest. I spent many years watching the men of late night, then working with the men of late night & at some point it dawned on me that this stuff wasn't made for me or people like me. Sure, I could watch & enjoy some of it, but there wasn't anything there that I could really solidly connect with, because I wasn't the intended audience, necessarily. Once you recognize that, it's hard to even sit through it? For me, anyway.
Totally agree with you. Late night shows don’t really interest me as I find them very repetitive, they seem to regurgitate the same jokes. And they’re just not funny any more, or they try too hard.
When I was able to, I did watch Busy Tonight. What I loved about that show was it was different and it wasn’t just Busy sat behind a desk with her guest sat on the other side. It was casual, friendly and welcoming to all, and genuinely funny. That’s a credit to you all! Such a shame you didn’t get a chance to build the audience. As you rightly said, it takes 2 years to establish and build an audience.
I honestly believe in the not too distant future, Late night shows as they are produced now, will be a thing of the past (I’m hopeful anyway LOL)
I was post-partum when Busy Tonight was on air and it was the only thing I looked forward to. (I have a hard time with sleep deprivation.) I really needed Busy's "I love you" at the end of every show, let me tell you I was not hearing it many other places. Busy Tonight is my favorite show of all time.
Thanks for sharing this, Caissie! I’m in Australia too and like Belinda said above, it’s not really a thing here, we would watch your late-night shows (and daytime shows for that matter) a day later! I loved ‘Busy Tonight’ SO much. I still have some episodes on my DVR!
“Go pus!” DEAD! The whole thing is very well thought out and eloquent, but I think that’s my favorite part. Love ya!
Rooting for pus. I never thought I would see the day, LOL!
“But I would like that pill wrapped in a little cheese” is about to become a regular saying in my house
HAHA! Cheese is always part of the equation for me.
Well spoken, Caissie!!
Thank you, Kristen!
Love this post. You always make me wanna have a conversation with you and obvi i can't so my friends and family have to suffer. Your points would have never reached me in late night (just like I couldn't figure out how to watch busy tonight from the uk) but I love the fact they reach me this way and isn't this a pars pro toto.
I have to look up pars pro toto & then I will be just a little smarter, so THANK YOU, JOSI! xoxo
The whole “late night” thing fascinates me because it’s not really a thing here in Australia. I remember growing up in the 80’s and 90’s, we had one variety show called “Hey Hey It’s Saturday” but even as a kid, I didn’t find it funny. Now, as an adult, I can see how problematic it was.
One thing I will say is I think our comedy scene is a lot more female friendly. It’s not unusual to see a 50/50 split at festivals. Female comedians are regularly on panel shows. And they give as good as they get. Maybe it’s a cultural thing because down here, we know women are fucking hilarious 🤷🏻♀️🤣🤣🤣
Ugh, sounds like heaven! I knew about "Hey, Hey It's Saturday" because at The Rosie O'Donnell Show one season we had an Australian writer who had come from that show! He wasn't there long, though. I lost track of him.
It was full on misogyny, racism and homophobia without even trying to be subversive. Just unapologetically out in the open and proud of it 😡
GAH! Now I retroactively hate that guy!
Oh boy, then allow me to tell you about the time on the gong show style segment of Hey Hey called, 'Red Faces', Harry Connick Jr walked off live TV after a contestant came out in black face.
But not before very calmly stating how atrocious it was to the when cast, crew and audience.
Wow. That makes me like Harry more.
Well said, Caissie. Your perspective as a woman who has lived in this white male dominated world gives you great credibility. I don’t know if it will be late at night but I look forward to more shows produced, written, hosted by people who have been excluded from this particular entertainment format. It kills me that the writer couldn’t manage to grab a quote from all your insight. Indicative of the problem we are still up against. I hope Samantha Bee does something great for her next act. I will miss her show deeply.
I have no doubt that Samantha will do something fantastic. She's very talented & knows what she's doing.
Thanks for sharing! And thank you for sparking a great conversation with my husband since we both have a lot of thoughts on this topic.
I love to spark a conversation! Wish I'd been there to join.
Thanks for sharing with us! ❤️❤️❤️
Of course! Thank you for reading!
The moment where nobody in the audience has cable is like when Rose says in Titanic: "Don't you understand? The water is freezing and there aren't enough boats." As usual, you and Busy have incredible instincts and are able to pinpoint little moments that tell larger, unfolding stories. You see the damn icebergs.
Iceberg, right ahead, LOL!
Love all your insight! Thank you for sharing!! Sorry it didn’t get used in the article but this community appreciates your words!!🤍
No big! It happens.
lol ‘go pus!’
Always gotta be joking around. I know it annoys people, but I can't stop, really.
Always glad to listen to or read your consistently-thoughtful perspective!
Thank you, Nicole!
Thank you for sharing this Caissie, I always love reading and hearing your stories and the answers you’ve written for the article are articulated in your unique style. I love how open and honest you were, but also being considerate of others. When you watch a late night show (especially the ones hosted by white men) do you ever think that they are ‘repeating history’ with the same jokes in the same format of hosts and shows of days gone by? Surely something has to change at some point.. But I suppose the TV networks ‘know what’s best’ 🤷🏻♀️
I have to be honest, I don't really watch that often, because it doesn't hold my interest. I spent many years watching the men of late night, then working with the men of late night & at some point it dawned on me that this stuff wasn't made for me or people like me. Sure, I could watch & enjoy some of it, but there wasn't anything there that I could really solidly connect with, because I wasn't the intended audience, necessarily. Once you recognize that, it's hard to even sit through it? For me, anyway.
Totally agree with you. Late night shows don’t really interest me as I find them very repetitive, they seem to regurgitate the same jokes. And they’re just not funny any more, or they try too hard.
When I was able to, I did watch Busy Tonight. What I loved about that show was it was different and it wasn’t just Busy sat behind a desk with her guest sat on the other side. It was casual, friendly and welcoming to all, and genuinely funny. That’s a credit to you all! Such a shame you didn’t get a chance to build the audience. As you rightly said, it takes 2 years to establish and build an audience.
I honestly believe in the not too distant future, Late night shows as they are produced now, will be a thing of the past (I’m hopeful anyway LOL)
Caissie knows her shit.
Thanks, Jess!