When Greg Gutfield stepped away from his late-night FOX News talk-show creation to host his own primetime Sunday show, who would take over the 3 a.m. hour (midnight Pacific) on Red Eye?
As The Comic’s Comic first reported in February, stand-up comedian and storyteller Tom Shillue already had emerged as an early frontrunner — and overnight tonight, Shillue steps in full-time as the new permanent host of Red Eye.
Congrats, Tom!
“Thanks Sean,” Shillue told The Comic’s Comic today. “I’m absolutely thrilled to be hosting the show that I used to watch every night before I went to bed!”
On Sunday night’s episode of The Greg Gutfield Show, Gutfield invited Shillue on to pass along his advice, as warped as it might be. Then again, Red Eye long has thrived on a devil-may-care attitude and healthy debates among the panelists — who come from the worlds of comedy, politics, journalism and celebrity.
Will Shillue take any of Gutfield’s advice, though?
“We like to have fun. We like it to be like a bar conversation, so I would love to get a bar in there, but I guess that’s not allowed. We can’t do that. You can’t serve draft beer during the show, can you??” Shillue told FOX & Friends this morning.
You likely won’t see too many changes, at least not right away.
“Regular viewers will be glad to know that RedEye with Tom Shillue is going to keep the spirit of the old show — I always loved the ‘hang out’ feel that Greg gave to the show, like it was a bunch of friends at a bar that don’t necessarily always agree,” Shillue told The Comic’s Comic. “I’ll also bringing some of the segments I started when I used to guest-host the show, like my ‘Moment with Tom’ monologues.”
Will this full-time responsibility on FOX News keep him off NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon? Shillue is a founding member of The Ragtime Gals barbershop quartet with Fallon and head writer A.D. Miles that invites a celebrity guest singer to make it a quintet.
“Fans of The Rag Time Gals don’t have to worry — I’m still ready to sing barbershop with Jimmy Fallon whenever he calls,” Shillue said.
RedEye with Tom Shillue debuts tonight at 3 a.m. Eastern and airs weeknights on FOX News.