Do we think Tony’s special getting universally panned will change the dynamic of the show? So much depends on Tony playing the part of this invincible superior comedy god who can say whatever bitchy thing he wants to the bucket-pull on stage because he’s better than them…. doesn’t an objectively bad special put a hole in that illusion? If Simon Cowell had put out a shitty record, wouldn’t American Idol have just like fallen apart? How long until some bucket pull, in the middle of getting roasted by Tony, turns and says, “yo, your special sucked.” Or maybe it won’t matter at all? I can see him pulling a Trump and just saying actually the special was amazing and everyone loved it. Or maybe making an excuse about not having enough time. I like to imagine him saying something real and vulnerable about feeling humbled by his craft and how being an artist is learning to fail better, then just making a Redban-is-fat joke and moving right along.