Skip Bayless is BACK! Doing His Own Show and Insisting He Wasn't Fired; He Quit

Frank Micelotta. Shutterstock Images.

Take heart, dear reader. Our long, national nightmare that began in mid-July:

… is finally over. 

Sure, at the time it felt like at 72 years of age and now fired from his second cable network, Skip Bayless was standing in his own grave. But like The Undertaker himself, Skip is back from the dead once more.

And he's setting the record straight about a few things. First, FS1 didn't break up with him, he broke up with them. Second, he's done with mincing words and watching what he says:

Awful Announcing - Bayless left FS1 after nearly eight years last month, and his exit has largely been spun as a network decision, citing Undisputed’s ratings entering a tailspin in the wake of Shannon Sharpe’s exit. But on the latest episode of The Skip Bayless Show, the 72-year-old sports entertainer attempted to spin the departure as his choice, citing freedom of expression. 

“The NFL season is about to start, along with my new life,” Bayless said. “I have waited a long time for this moment. I am finally free. Free to unleash in ways I never have. Free to give you every bit of me without boundaries or handcuffs or fear of suspension. 

“I recently left FS1, an exit I had planned for several months because I wanted to do this. I wanted to be my own boss. To bet on myself. To break free from the TV networks I’ve worked for for 35 years. For 35 years, I’ve been told, ‘Don’t! Don’t! Don’t! Careful! Careful! Careful!’ I’ve tiptoed, sidestepped, pulled punches…No more bosses with huge egos and hidden agendas. No more games that have to be played behind closed network doors. Now I’m free to be one thousand percent me.” …

But wait, there’s more. Bayless said his FS1 exit would also allow him to write a book about his last 20 years as a daily TV host; he’ll shop his “controversial” screenplay and develop “all sorts of other digital shows,” presumably one with Lil Wayne.

Whoa. Do you mean to tell me that what we've been seeing all this time is Skip Bayless holding back? Mincing words? Being mindful of his thoughts? Showing caution? As hot as his takes have been, they were meant to come out hotter, but the suits at Fox were cooling them down? Inconceivable!

His last show may have been called Unfiltered, but his new one might as well be called Wicked Super for Real Not at All Filtered, and This Time I 100% Totally Am Not Kidding Around About How Unfiltered I'll Be. I mean, strap yourself in. We are in for a wild ride even the most devoted Bayless Bro might not be able to handle! 

Far be it for me to question Skip's veracity here. Though he is predisposed toward making himself the hero of every story he tells. So it's fair to question whether he was the Dumpee in his split with FS1 or the Dumper. Regardless, it'll be interesting to see how this works out for him. 

The media landscape is changing all the time. In fact, the rate of change seems to be getting faster by the week. Cable and satellite are flatlining and about to be read their last rites. A lot of personalities who were huge in that space have left their old jobs for one reason or another, and found varying degrees of success as podcasters or YouTubers. Personally, I have my doubts Skip is cut out for that world. Like I said in July:

It's OK not to be the Leading Man type. What the Zoomer kids refer to as Main Character Syndrome. Some of the best character actors ever were born only for supporting roles. And that's Skip. There's no shame in it. 

But Skip has always been a very specific type of supporting player. He's always fit in on TV as the Wacky Neighbor Who's Also an Irritant. Whereas a merely Wacky Neighbor will sometimes go be the lead of their own, highly successful spinoff series (think George Jefferson or Fraser Crane), the Irritant could never carry a show. Because their whole identity is based on one thing. And that is getting an exasperated reaction out of the protagonist so hilarity can ensue. Think Urkel Or Al Bundy's neighbor Marcy. Or perhaps the best example ever, Kramer. No one ever wanted to watch 30 minutes of Cosmo Kramer going around bothering everybody with his insane antics. He was perfect as he was, flinging the door open to Jerry's apartment and injecting a little chaos into otherwise normal conversations about dating relationships and Superman. 

The same with Skip Bayless. Take away his Stephen A. Smith or his Shannon Sharpe, and the broad, comedic appeal of watching their facial expressions while he went on some bizarre rant, and what have you got? Just a garden variety imbecile saying unhinged, nonsensical stuff. It's why this worked so well: 

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But who can say until he tries it? Maybe Bayless has been holding back all this time. Perhaps the format of him saying outrageous things in order to generate meme-worthy incredulous stares from Stephen A. Smith or Shannon Sharpe was too constraining for him. And that finally, in his fifth decade in media, will finally hit his stride and become the man he always secretly desired to be. 

It should be obvious from my tone that I think Bayless is a ridiculous caricature who takes himself way too seriously. But I'll always root for someone who's willing to gamble on himself and try to reinvent himself. Especially late in life. I won't be watching his content, but I hope he finds a huge audience that does and makes a fortune. And I think we can all be looking forward to the tell all book where he rips everyone he's ever worked with a new butthole. When that happens, we all win.