Bill Simmons has a new show on HBO. It’s called Any Given Wednesday, it’s not too bad, but it’s far from amazing. The show as a whole has a “what do I do with my hands,” quality to it. What’s that? What would I do to fix it? Oh why, thank you for asking, I suppose I have an idea or two.
I’ve been a fan of Bill Simmons since I was in high school (I’m 24). Let me rephrase, Bill Simmons was the first non-athlete I looked up to and said, “I want to do what that guy does.” I was irate when Simmons got suspended from ESPN a few years ago over the Roger Goddell controversy – I actually remember listening to the exact podcast driving back to Long Island from my girlfriend’s place in Virginia. Grantland (RIP) was my favorite website from its inception, and the only good thing about its untimely death was my tweet about the event, was favorited by Chuck Klosterman.
Bill has said multiple times that the show is a work in progress, and it is only two episodes into its first season, so I’m not actually complaining. Making a TV show today is really really really hard. There are so many other quality options that anytime a new show comes into the fold, not only does it have to be good enough on it’s own, but it also has to be good on a level that doesn’t leave someone thinking, maybe I’ll finally check out Narcos. The best thing Any Given Wednesday has going for it in that regard is; it isn’t like most shows people are devoting their time to these days. It’s a weekly talk show. Most people should be able to find an extra 30 minutes in their week. Still, this brings us to Bill’s first challenge: how do you make it so this doesn’t just seem like Last Week Tonight: Sports Edition? (Having the same big story on doping in the Olympics didn’t help this week.)
In essence this is what the show has been the first couple episodes. It isn’t exactly the same, it’s more like a Daily Show/Last Week Tonight hybrid taped on an updated The Sports Reporters set. This isn’t the worst thing in the world, though. Those shows were/are great. But, originality is important when you are trying to break a new TV show into the cultural landscape in 2016. More specifically, organic originality. You don’t want to go too out there, because then it becomes obvious that you are trying to be unique, and no matter how many time people ask, they don’t really want to know the magician’s secret. The originality needs to come from somewhere organic in the creators and writers of the show. I’ll come back to this later.
The second problem that is more specific to Bill Simmons, is making the transition from podcast to TV show. He has definitely improved on this since his last foray into the world of TV with The Grantland Basketball Hour. But, a lot of this just has to do with the freedom from censorship and lack of commercials provided by airing on HBO. The writing is also much better. The great thing about Bill’s podcast is, as the old BS Report intro said, it’s a free flowing conversation. The time restriction of a TV show really hinders the ability to let tangents develop. Bill mentioned in a recent podcast that the conversations with each guest were longer and the rest of the talk would be made available on HBO Now. What’s tough about this problem is there isn’t an easy solution.
On the one hand, the idea of keeping things natural seem like it would provide a level of authenticity people could appreciate. But Bill and the writers want to get the best parts of the conversation on the air, and this is what is ultimately wins out. The thing is, with a podcast you get to have it both ways. It’s a lot tougher to tell whether or not a conversation got cut out when you don’t see the way someone’s face looks slightly different afterwards. Outside of expanding the time limit of the show, I’m not sure there is an easy fix. However, this is a problem that is more than likely a result of the show only being two episodes old. I’m holding out hope that they will be able to work out the kinks as they continue.
There is one change I think they could make, and it goes back to the organic originality I mentioned earlier. As I mentioned earlier, Any Given Wednesday basically feels like a mix of The Daily Show and The Sports Reporters. Both great shows. But meshed together and thrown onto a set that I really thought was the Rivega offices from the set of Silicon Valley feels a little forced. They have their answer though, and they used it during the second episode when Bill was talking to Bill Hader.
Bill switched locations from the living room to the bar area. This is the first time we’ve seen this part of the set, and it’s the answer to the “what do I do with my hands” level of discomfort the show is projecting. Take away the chair from Bill’s side, give him a rag to throw over his shoulder, and let him be the host/bartender.
They might need to expand the bar a little bit if they want to have more than two guests at a time, but this is the move to create an organically original show. Bill used to work as a bartender in Boston before he truly became The Sports Guy. It gives his real-life character arc a nice Joseph Campbell touch for one, and also, this is Bill Simmons’ thing!
I’m a 24 year old New York sports fan. As such, I subscribe to the Yankees, Giants, and Knicks subreddits. A recent article on The Ringer about the impossibility of KD signing in New York, got posted in r/NYKnicks. Being a community filled exclusively with Knicks fans, they were a little salty. The comments bashed The Ringer, and Simmons, for being a Boston homer.
But this is a huge part of Simmons’ hook. He’s a sports fan first. An incredibly knowledgeable sports fan, to be fair. He is more like that guy at the bar that seems to have a sixth sense for sports, than he is like Buster Olney. His podcasts feel like really great sports bar conversations. That feeling is the essence of Simmons’ appeal and HBO needs to utilize it.
I want Any Given Wednesday to get better and better. I’m optimistic about its chances. Go back and watch the first few episodes of Parks and Recreation. It’s not easy to make a TV show awesome right from the beginning, and Parks was experiencing the same problem as Any Given Wednesday. The first season of Parks was held back by them trying to do a remake of The Office. It wasn’t until they leaned into the strengths of Amy Poehler that they figured out what the show was. Poehler was playing Leslie Knope, not Blonde-Female Michael Scott.
Be Bill, Bill. Not Sports Jon Stewart. I’m rooting for you.
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