Good news and bad news. Good news: Fuse has renewed my favorite new show, “Billy on the Street,” for another 12 episodes. Bad news: The streets of New York are still a terrifying place if you’re afraid of someone running up to you and screaming questions about Mariah Carey into your big dumb face (a very common phobia). From The Hollywood Reporter:
Since its December bow, the late-night series that features the comedian quizzing New York pedestrians on music and pop culture is averaging 1.3 million total viewers per its first 10 installments, which have included cameos from Joan Rivers, Rachel Dratch and more.
“I’m incredibly excited to come back later this year with new episodes, fresh games, and more crazy contestants to quiz in the face,” Eichner said in a statement announcing the news.
The show had kind of a weird first season, mostly due to the extended poop-chucking contest between Madison Square Garden and Time Warner Cable that resulted in Fuse being blacked out in millions of homes (including most of New York City). To see it get renewed despite that is great news, because I can’t get enough of Billy Eicher yelling at people. From his work on this show, to his inspired segment for “Conan” at the Super Bowl, to the Oscar preview clip below, the man is a large, opinionated national treasure, and he should be protected via legislation like an endangered species if at all possible.
