First off, we want to wish Glenn Beck the best in whatever it is he and his media company decide to do next. The way he and Fox News handled the decision to part ways is a model for all in the art of professional dignity — or in the art of doing the complete opposite of what MSNBC does. But as the saying goes, when one door closes another opens and we, the editors of the Bigs, would like to take this opportunity to politely suggest to the powers at Fox News that Red Eye w/Greg Gutfeld is ready for primetime. Actually, strike that. We don’t want to suggest it, we want to declare it. Because it’s a fact.
For over three years now, Greg Gutfeld, TV’s own Andy Levy, Bill Schulz, Pinch, a myriad of fascinating guests from all walks of life, and the Leg Chair, have been producing the best news/satire/interview/comedy show on television. It’s an hour of cool, funny, irreverent, intelligent and informative entertainment, but … it airs at three in the morning. And yet, “Red Eye not only has as dedicated a following as anything on television right now, it’s also been known to pull in more viewers than CNN’s primetime … at three in the morning.
Furthermore, we live in a world where popular entertainment culture rules as much as the news, where Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Bill Maher, and SNL can help to set the national debate and steer the political narrative as much if not more than political newsmakers. Fox News grabbing a piece of this only makes sense from a business, influence and ratings point of view, but for those of us tired of the Hollywood left owning almost every square inch of this valuable turf, having “Red Eye’s” conservative-to-libertarian ideas penetrating this world would be a real breath of fresh air.
There is an untapped market here, somewhere in the, oh, 50% range.
Since 2007, night after night, those of us dedicated to the show have all seen what the Red Eye crew can do with a newspaper puppet, virtual robots, paper unicorns, a full-time ombudsmen (that would be TV’s Andy Levy), and … did we mention the Leg Chair? The talent and ability to sustain a quality show with what must be a budget smaller than whatever Jon Stewart spends on goatee consultants, is not in question, and there’s no reason that same talent and dedication can’t make a successful transition to primetime.
For you “Red Eye” fans worried about what fixing something that currently ticks like a Swiss watch might do to your favorite show, we get that. We also get that a move to a primtime slot would obviously mean changes to the show and change isn’t always good. But keep in mind that Fox News is very, very good at what they do and so is the “Red Eye” gang.
America deserves an alternative to the the Stewarts and Mahers and Lettermans and Tina Feys, and we all know that in a just pop culture world it would be Greg Gutfeld accepting the Mark Twain Prize next year.
“Red Eye” is currently the best kept secret in the world of political satire and we think the time to share that secret has arrived.
The petition is below. Please sign away you signing petition signers, uhm, signatories– See what we mean? There’s only one Greg Gutfeld.
SIGN THE PETITION TO GET GREG GUTFELD ON FOX:
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