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Goodbye Kevin Pereira! Hello Blair Herter? Why Blair Herter Should Step in As The New Co-Host of G4’s ‘Attack of the Show’

      

by Cam Arruda 

Next Friday, an era will have successfully come to a close as Kevin Pereira will have finished his final episode of G4’s Attack of the Show as co-host. Pereira has been the face of the series for its entire run, and has even shuffled through a number of female co-hosts throughout his reign. Now, there will be a large gap left to fill at the side of Candace Bailey, and the biggest question is just who will step in.

The co-hosts could be really anyone, even another female should the series choose to take that bold new direction. But, to properly balance out perspectives, it’s likely that the show will choose another male to fill Kevin’s place. While this doesn’t sound exactly like a big deal, it is when you consider the male on-screen talent. While a rotating number of women have been at the side of Kevin over the years filling in for when Olivia Munn or even Sarah Lane were sick, the same really can’t be said for when Kevin has been on vacation. Who can replace the man responsible for spearheading the conversations and keeping the hour at a grounded and focused pace, all while making us laugh and completely entertained in the process? 

What’s likely to follow after Kevin’s departure will be another long and arduous process just like the same that occurred before Candace was initially offered the co-host gig. This means we’ll likely be subject to numerous talent alongside Bailey as the months go on until an official announcement is made. But…what if G4 is willing to promote from within? While Sarah Underwood would be a good replacement, again I stress the importance of balancing out male and female perspective. But, which man could step up? Diane and I have discussed the topic in length before, and really we’ve come to only one conclusion: Blair Herter.

Now, the biggest problem lies in the fact that Herter is currently set with X-Play duties. Ever since Adam Sessler’s quick and unexplained leave in April, it seems that Herter is the new male lead of X-Play. In a lot of ways, if Herter were to leave a similar situation would likely develop over there as well. However, X-Play is filmed in advance and only airs three days out of the week for a 22 minute series. Could Herter balance out two jobs? Quite possibly. So, let’s just go on the notion that Herter would take the co-hosting job at AOTS.

This past Wednesday’s episode really gave us a different tone to Blair’s filling in as host due to the fact that it was his first time doing so since Kevin’s announcement. So granted, the thought of exactly who would be replacing Kevin definitely coincided when Blair was in the spotlight. And honestly? He’s good. The reason why Herter makes the perfect replacement is for various reasons. For starters, he has both the same comedic timing and yet completely serperate brand of comedy from Kevin. What Kevin does best is hit the best moments to make jokes and facial expressions that can even make Candace laugh. Blair can do the same exact thing, which can’t exactly be said for the other male co-hosts who have paired up with Bailey. But, Blair’s humor feels like something else entirely compared to Kevin’s. While we’ve become very used to Kevin’s style of comedy, Blair’s feels like a mix not only of Kevin’s own laughs,but something original as well.

The only problem in that department is that Blair takes a foot when you give him an inch. One of the greatest things Kevin can do in any situation is tell a joke, and yet still keep the show on schedule and on task. Though he’ll crack jokes, he’ll always be sure to keep the hour in line when going into different sections of the episode, and he knows when to be serious. Blair, on the other hand, didn’t really do that on Wednesday. One of the most noticeable aspects of this also ties into another problem: his interviewing skills. While Herter can do great pre-taped one-on-one interviews, he didn’t exactly shine when Danielle Panabaker came on to talk about Piranha 3DD. While we do all agree that it’s guaranteed to be a crappy movie, you shouldn’t exactly point it out. You should make each guest plug their product to the best of your ability, and convince the audience that what said guest is plugging should be interesting enough to go see. What Herter did the other night was essentially call Piranha 3DD shit (which I’ll be honest, we all want to anyways), and focused rather on Panabaker’s personal life rather than the movie she was there to promote. The show, and even the network, survives on plugs from various companies and studios and no matter how big or small the brand, each deserves the same amount of respect. The interview certainly took a very weird turn when Herter moved on from the film after only 2 minutes or so and never went back. While it may not be interesting to you, you should at least pretend that it’s interesting and not insult your guest at least.

As Diane pointed out to me, however, interview skills are something that can be learned over time.

Another large component that Herter succeeds at happens to be his chemistry with Candace. We’ve seen that when putting someone next to the energetic and often bubbly female, there has to be some great appeal in your on-screen partnership. DVDuesday is nearly painful to watch nowadays as Chris Gore and Candace on-screen together certainly feels like an odd combo that even Chris himself has described on-air as “awkward”. In order for an audience to enjoy themselves, the hosts must be doing the same as well. With Candace and Kevin you get that feeling of enjoyment, and that’s even carried over when Sara is entered into the mix of multiple instances. It’s clear that Candace easily laughs with Blair, and his similar humor styles make that easy to do so. With a relationship akin to the one we regularly see, it would certainly make the transition nearly seamless.

Let’s face it, though: there will never be another Kevin. When he departs next Friday, a large history of AOTS that has stood tall for over seven years will go along with it. The series will enter an all-new era which will be in the hands of hosts that have only been around in a regular capacity as early as last January. Still, it’s with the final days of Kevin’s run, and even this recent absence of the host for a day, it feels as if we’ve come to accept his soon to be departure. While the full effect has yet to be reached, Pereira’s farewell is a well deserved one. For years now, the man has been able to entertain an excited audience who come home from work or school and tune in to escape for an hour. While whether or not Blair Herter, Matt Mira, Sara Underwood, Kristin Adams, or even an all-new talent from outside the company steps into his shoes, they will certainly be some massive shows to fill.

Who do you think should replace Kevin? Is Blair Herter the right man for the job, or is tearing him away from X-Play too much of a chore? Let us know!