On a typical Friday night, you’re bound to find me in the midst of a “Say Yes to the Dress” marathon, petting my calico and dreaming of Prince-Charming-and-Single-and-Straight. Go ahead, judge me. This week, however, I flipped the script, choosing to spend my evening with the all-too-charming, taken and gay Ross Mathews, whose interactive talk show “Hello Ross” recently premiered on the E! Network.
Mathews is a stranger to few these days. Since darting to fame as “Ross the Intern,” a correspondent on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” he has frequently appeared on another E!’s talk show, “Chelsea Lately,” as part of a rotating panel of comedians who are asked to comment on current events in pop culture. In both venues, his effusive personality helped to mark him as a fan favorite.
The noting of his experience is not meant to say that “Hello Ross” is a copy of either “The Tonight Show” or “Chelsea Lately.” If anything, his show is its own breed: an interactive program at the intersection of celebrity gossip and pop culture that’s specifically designed to function for the viewer, by the viewer. Its closest relative might be Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live,” except, unlike “Live,” “Hello Ross” is taped well before airtime, appears only once a week and escapes the scope of its own network’s programming.
Of course, there are also resonances to Mathew’s former days on late night. The format of “Hello Ross” is a smart variation on the standard late night format designed to reel in the desirable 18 to 34-year-old demographic. Mathews opens with a short monologue before launching into coverage of the latest events in entertainment and finishing with a guest interview. Along the way, self-proclaimed “superfans” offer their opinions and ask the questions. Some sit in, while others call in or video chat. Everyone has been chosen for their dedication to the topic under discussion. On the premiere, a Lady Gaga skeptic in the audience got on the nerves of a Skyped-in “Little Monster.” Later, a fan of the pop duo LMFAO beamed in to ask the show’s first guest, a member of the group Sky Blue, why he cut his previously bush-like hair. He wanted to be an individual, Sky Blue responded.
The premiere also boasted a segment in which Mathews took an admirer of Bravo’s “Real Housewives” franchise out for a makeover in Beverly Hills so that she, too, could dress and eat like stars Kyle Richards and Lisa Vanderpump. The latter showed up as their mealtime server and, though contrived, there’s no doubt that the whole thing was entertaining.
Ultimately, “Hello Ross” fits nicely into E!’s “pop of culture” programming dynasty. Whereas other shows on the network like “The Soup” and “Fashion Police” thrive on cynicism, defining what’s “in” and “out” of favor, “Hello Ross” focuses on a sense of community, turning out the seams of enthroned-Hollywood to bring the couch-dwellers into the fold. The viewing experience is akin to being invited to sit at the “popular table” of high school lore.
Mathews himself makes the show. A sassy, gay-best-friend type, his voice is as high-pitched as his heart is full. He’s prone to poke fun at himself and erupt into fits of giggles, but don’t mistake his silliness for stupidity. He’s quick-witted and perceptive, able to quickly make observations that are funny without being cruel.
Although in the transition from correspondent to host, Mathews often appears a bit uncomfortable, there’s every hope that time will ease his anxieties as he settles into his new role. Until then, I am perfectly content waiting and watching. I’ve decided to welcome a new tradition for Friday nights: ditching thoughts of A-line gowns and making a beeline for the king of superfans himself.
“Hello Ross” airs Fridays on E! at 9 p.m. CDT.
