Watch ‘Billy On The Street,’ If You Can

Good news and bad news, everyone.

Good news: Here is another trailer (NSFW audio) for the absolutely delightful new show “Billy On The Street,” starring New York comedian Billy Eichner.  Matt posted an extended preview of the show a little over a month ago, and I have been eagerly awaiting its premiere this Thursday ever since. It’s weird how much enjoyment I get out of these clips, because the concept of a stranger accosting me on the street like this terrifies me. I can barely deliver a coherent thought when someone answers their phone after I’ve already assumed it was going to voicemail. If a man ran up to me with a microphone and screamed a question about Ryan Seacrest right into my big dumb face, I’d probably just faint right there on the street like a startled 1920s Southern belle. And yet I get endless glee out of watching him do it to other people. It’s the psychological equivalent of watching people get hit in the nuts on “America’s Funniest Home Videos.”

Bad News: The channel that airs the show, Fuse, is at the center of a heated contract negotiation between Madison Square Garden and Time Warner Cable, and may end up not being carried by TWC, the nation’s second biggest cable company. Now, admittedly, I don’t know much about the actual negotiations or the merits of each side’s argument. But I DO know that sometimes it feels good to scream and yell a little, and there are very few entities in the world more deserving of this treatment than giant cable companies. So, if you’re so inclined, you could drop Time Warner a line on Twitter (@TWCableHelp) or by email (twcable.help@twcable.com) to tell them how you feel about this. Or maybe just flood them with a bunch of all-caps, Billy Eichner-style questions. I’m sure they’ll appreciate the feedback.