Ben Affleck has ruined many things: Armageddon, the Batman franchise, Jennifer Garner’s career. But he was the last person you’d expect to potentially derail Any Given Wednesday With Bill Simmons, the title host’s new half-hour talk show-slash-vlog for HBO. In last week’s debut episode, an ostensibly inebriated Affleck went on a five-minute tirade during which he castigated Roger Goodell and the NFL for the Deflategate scandal. The rant wasn’t necessarily unusual—what was odd was that Affleck frequently slurred his words, dropped F-bombs like he was on the set of a Kevin Smith movie, and at one point shouted so loud it looked like was going to have a Tom-Cruise-jumping-on-the-couch moment.
If anything, Any Given Wednesday reminds me of one of my favorite HBO programs: Dennis Miller Live. Before he got an abbreviated gig at Monday Night Football, 9/11 happened, and he subsequently lost his mind, Miller was a hilarious, eloquent, sarcastic know-it-all who excelled at two things: humorously reading the news and talking to other comedians. Those elements made Dennis Miller Live a sharp late-night talk show, loose and lively in a low-key, adult manner. By focusing and fine-tuning Simmons’s virtues, Any Given Wednesday signals the potential for the show’s longevity and sneaky appeal. My advice: next time, book Mark Wahlberg.
