‘How Can We Bully the Bullies?’: Hosts of TV Land’s Throwing Shade Talk to Mediaite

TV Land’s latest hires, Erin Gibson and Bryan Safi, aren’t interested in leading boring or predictable lives, let alone creating a boring or predictable show.

In an interview with Mediaite, Gibson laughed at the idea that anyone could survive on the New Yorker alone. Safi pointed out that in the morning he reads the New York Times, and at night he watches the Real Housewives. To the comedic duo, who have been working together for over half a decade, there is plenty of room to consume both high- and low-brow content, which is fortunate, considering that the host of The Apprentice is in the White House now.

It isn’t just fortunate for them, though. It’s fortunate for the viewers of their late night show, Throwing Shade, too. What started as a podcast riffing on pop culture and current events five years ago has now blossomed into a 10:30 show every Tuesday night. There is, they say, something that will appeal to long-time listeners and new viewers alike. (Amazingly, they’re still doing the full podcast every week, too, as a project separate from the show. Perhaps they never sleep. We thought it might be uncouth to ask.)

As Safi explained, the two don’t have law degrees, but they do have extensive knowledge of pop culture, so while they can’t always explain current political happenings from a policy standpoint, they can absolutely fall back on reality television storylines that mirror what’s going on in the highest levels of our government. By doing that, they can make politics palatable — though Gibson hates using that word — to the everyday person whose life is impacted by their elected officials’ choices every day, whether they like it or not.

“We want to be your drunkest, most informed friend at brunch,” is how Gibson put it.

Safi followed that up with the assertion that it’s never their goal to talk down to anyone. It is their goal to punch up, however. While explaining that TV Land took a pretty big risk by hiring these two to helm a late-night show, Safi said, “We can’t believe it happened — they looked at a show by gay man and lady talking about politics and issues affecting us and put it on the air. Our responsibility now is to make it funny. That’s all we’re ever thinking about: How can we bully the bullies?”

When it comes to bullying those bullies, they have a few options. They deliver witty lines from their anchor desk in front of a live studio audience, but they also have pre-taped skits. Thanks to their affiliation with Funny or Die, which is where they were working when they originally came up with the idea for Throwing Shade, their skits’ actors tend to be pretty heavy hitters. For instance, some have featured Will Ferrell and Casey Wilson. Maybe you’ve heard of them?

Anyway, speaking of famous people you’ve maaaaybe have heard about, here’s how Safi summed up the show: “We want people to know that you can watch the Kardashians and still be informed and make a difference.”

To everyone who whined after the Golden Globes that celebrities and politics don’t mix: take a seat.

To everyone else: pull up a chair.

Throwing Shade airs tonight, and every Tuesday, on TV Land at 10:30 EST.

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.

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