‘Gutfeld!’ needs to adjust Fox focus
It’s not the greatest thing for a comedic talk show when your funniest openingweek moment is unintentional.
“Gutfeld!,” Fox News Channel’s new late-night entry whose conservative/libertarian take sets it apart from talk-show competitors, explored an intriguing topic on its second night last week: the inability of some national media to get over the departure of former President Donald Trump and the mountain of material – and ratings – he provided.
So it was LOL funny when host Greg Gutfeld turned to critique “post-trump stress” with the night’s marquee guest: Trump’s son Eric. And that was one night after former Trump press secretary Kayleigh Mcenany, the new co-host of Fox’s “Outnumbered,” was the premiere episode’s big get.
Now who is it exactly that can’t quit Trump?
Maybe “Gutfeld!” (weeknights, 11 EDT/8 PDT) sees Trump obsession only in terms of those who are critical of the former president. That points to what may be the biggest contrast between “Gutfeld!” and its late-night competitors. It’s less about structure – Gutfeld and guests riffing on the news more resembles “The View,” minus the long desk – than lead-in programming on a network intertwined with Trump and his supporters.
While Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel come on after scripted dramas and local news, “Gutfeld!” follows three hours of Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham hammering the left. It may be lighter in tone than those shows, but it serves the same red meat: criticism of the media, liberal cancel culture and Hunter Biden.
As a political chatfest, “Gutfeld!” spends much time rehashing Fox talking points. As comic relief, it’s not very funny.
Its late-night rivals, who span apolitical/centrist to progressive, haven’t been all that tough on President Joe Biden or New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo while suffering occasional bouts of embarrassing fawning (See Fallon and “Cuomosexuals”). However, they do make jokes about both of those Democrats and others.
“Gutfeld!,” by comparison, didn’t go after right-wing sacred cows, including a huge Republican target: scandal-plagued U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz. Of course, “Gutfeld!” viewers who get all their news from Fox might not even know Gaetz has a problem.
“Gutfeld!” appears boxed in by its opinion lead-ins, a contradiction for a show that cultivates a subversive tone but a potential path to ratings success. In its first four nights, “Gutfeld!” averaged 1.6 million viewers, up 400,000 from the hour’s previous average with news programming. It outranked CNN and MSNBC, tied ABC’S “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and fell behind only CBS’ “Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (although both talk shows start 35 minutes later).