John Mayer Could Be the Answer to Who Revives the TV Variety Show

With Mayer Taping a CBS Musical Variety Show Pilot, We May Get a Host with Talent and Who Attracts Talent

What's better than an angry, politically-obsessive host of a new variety show? Well, how about a brilliant musician who makes contorting faces while he plays solos on his guitar? Not to be facetious here about John Mayer's quirks while performing on stage, but he probably doesn't automatically translate into what most people would think to be the perfect host of a new variety show. That's probably because we're too used to the persona of variety show hosts of yore. In that vein, it was sometimes those with Broadway theater backgrounds and, while perhaps knowing how to sing reasonably well, weren't intense musicians. Yes, I'm insinuating that John Mayer is probably too good of a musician to be hosting a variety show.

But then, the idea of having a regular TV show based in Los Angeles is likely appealing to many entertainers who have to mainly live on the road. After a number of years touring, Mayer likely realizes that being able to hang around L.A. and nurture his relationship with Jennifer Aniston (or maybe it's off again...no, it's on!) would be ideal for this current stage of his life. Not that this is all a done deal as these words go to print.

You've undoubtedly heard about him taping a pilot for a new TV show in what CBS describes as a potential musical variety series. With that above-mentioned persona of what a variety show host should be, it shouldn't surprise us that Rosie O'Donnell was given the chance back in November to revive the variety show format that isn't giving up on getting resuscitated. It wasn't that Rosie couldn't have succeeded if she had better guests, writers and didn't have some personal issues with certain individuals that she couldn't resist venting on. Then again, CBS might have had a brainstorm ahead of NBC (not that unusual lately if you look at the Nielsen ratings) with the thought any new host of a variety show should be someone different from what we expect in order to not create expectations.