Busy Philipps Opens Up About Return to Late Night for ‘Busy This Week’

Busy Philipps was heartbroken when Busy Tonight ended in 2019 after less than a year. Deep down the star knew it wasn’t the end of her late-night hosting run. She just needed the right opportunity. Fast forward to today, and  Philipps is gearing up to host her new late-night talk show Busy This Week on QVC+. The first 10 episodes will be released weekly on Wednesdays with four holiday-themed episodes set to premiere in November and December.

She’ll bring the fun to each episode with trademark takes and conversations with celebrity guests. And it wouldn’t be QVC without personalized retail recommendations and shoppable finds. For Philipps, it’s another chance to bring a female voice to a male-dominated space within the entertainment space. The actress plans to tackle topics important to women, and in some cases, may not otherwise get discussed elsewhere.

Here Philipps tells us what to expect from the show and what it means to have her Girls5eva co-stars top by for a chat.

QVC+

How did this opportunity come about? 

Busy Philipps:  Well, you know men get all kinds of chances repeatedly when it doesn’t work out for them the first time. It’s interesting because I look at Busy Tonight as a success as a show. We all felt, our creative team including [EP] Caissie St. Onge felt that ultimately the system of television is changing. The landscape continues to change. Our job as creators and people who want to put things into the world is to try to think outside the box a little bit. Right when Busy Tonight ended, we had taken some meetings with steamers just about to launch. It seemed to me it was the same thing but just a different channel.

I started to think about how we could do this differently and figure out ways to meet the need. We had been formulating a different kind of plan, but then the pandemic happened. Caissie and I pivoted and started doing our podcast. We always had the intention one way or another of rebooting or doing a late-night talk show again. It wasn’t ever a question to me or her that we were going to do it again in some capacity. Working with QVC to do a holiday special a year-and-a-half ago made me think they could be an incredible partner to do something they haven’t done before. We started talking to them and asked if this was something they would be interested in, and they were very interested thankfully.

How much creative freedom do you have from QVC? 

I think it’s pretty freeing because this is the first time someone is doing it here in this way. We get to decide what it looks like. Ultimately, everything I’ve done, especially in the last decade…I’m taking a page from male counterparts, making stuff for us girls and for our friends and people that we feel would enjoy seeing this. QVC allows us to realy have that kind of freedom. They have been great partners thus far.

QVC is a unique place to have this format of a show. 

Friends have asked me, “Wait, are you selling things on the show?” The funny thing is, “No, we’re not exactly selling things on the show.” I have Matthew Hemesath from Girls5eva. He came on board as a stylist and for wardrobe. We are integrating clothes and fashion and what QVC does. I’m able to show what resonates with me.  The way I style things. The set is very shoppable. If you like the sofa, it can be yours. I do find people want to sell stuff. We’ve gotten requests from celebrities and people who are going to be our guests asking, “Could I sell something?” I think a lot of people have a lot of fond memories of watching QVC and buying things. I know I do.”

Do you remember what you first bought from QVC? 

I remember getting my mother to buy me a desk thing you can use in your bed, so you can do your homework while you are in bed. This was back in the day. I also remember my friends and I at sleepovers always calling into QVC trying to get on the air. I never did.

QVC+

Talk about coming full circle. You mentioned celebrity friends. Anyone you can mention coming on the show? 

The Girls5eva are definitely going to be on the show. I’m so incredibly thrilled for the guests coming on. I remember from doing Busy Tonight in the beginning where it was a little tricky. You have people who are interested, but their representation wants to see what the show is. It’s understandable as an actor myself. I totally get it…Thankfully, I have done this before, so we’ve had a lot of people that have been excited to come on board.

It’s always people I’m a huge fan of. Sometimes I’m friends with them in real life. But it’s people I’m genuinely interested in chatting with and talking to about what they’re up to and having a good time with. The guests we’re filming with I’m super excited about. We just did a big comedian that I have just been a fan of. We’re just trying to get in line with who our audience is, who we are, and who we would want to see on a late-night show. I remember when Miss Patty LaBelle was on Busy Tonight. It was one of our favorite episodes of all time. Our audience loved it. We’re thinking along those lines. The first guests are the girls from Girls5eva.

Now three seasons in to Girls5eva, it seems like you all have gotten really close. 

We really are supportive of one another. I would show up and will do anything for any of them. Sara [Bareilles] just announced that Renée [Elise Goldsberry] is opening for her at the Hollywood Bowl this summer. We are there for one another way in such a deep way. I love the experience. I really do hope we’re able to get a fourth season of the show because I think it has hit a beautiful place and is so funny.

I was just at a dinner party the other night and didn’t know a ton of people. I sit next to this woman who shared with me the last few years have been hard in her life, which I relate to. She is like and I keep coming back to Girls5eva. I watched every season four times. She just needed to laugh some days, and nothing made her laugh harder. I feel really incredibly grateful to not just have this relationship I have with these incredible women but also that the show resonates with people. There is nonstop laughter that translates in some way to our audience in a time when we can all use it.

Your late-night show sounds like much of the same. 

That is our driving mission and driving force. We feel strongly about being able to hold all of the things. A lot is going on in the world we care about, but we need to be able to relax, laugh, and be a little silly to go at it the next day.

We’ve seen women like Chelsea Handler, Lilly Singh, and recently Taylor Tomlinson. With you back on late-night, what do you think the landscape is like for women today? 

At the end of the day we can all do better in representation, but that’s how things are talked about, reviewed, and reported on. When my late-night show launched there was a critic baffled by the show. That it was confusing to them. I do think when you watch something that was not made specifically for you, it is confusing. I can feel that watching a show myself. The truth is we have a lot of very different storytellers out there who deserve to have as many shots as their white male counterparts. In terms of the late-night space, I think it’s a comedy holdout.

It feels reminiscent of the old days and old ideas of who gets to be funny, where, and when. I was bummed about Amber Ruffin’s show getting canceled. I love her and feel she is a valuable voice. I loved her show, so it’s difficult when you see that any time a woman has been given a chance in the late-night space outside of Chelsea, they are given a very short runway. Myself included. That’s a bummer. I don’t have any answers, except you have to keep going and continue to try to think of different ways to make things.

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What’s the best advice you’ve gotten about hosting? 

Caissie has worked for everyone.. Her first job was as David Letterman’s assistant. She has worked for Rosie O’Donnell and Andy Cohen. I do think the best advice she has ever given me is your superpower is yourself and your ability to talk to people and make them feel comfortable. They will share things with you. That’s when you have interesting conversations. I think that’s right. I think I can ask different questions than other people in this space.

Busy This Week premiere, May 8, 10/9c, QVC+