How to watch Neil Patrick Harris’ new show, which premieres tonight

About Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris:Five Emmy® Awards and a Tony® Award make Neil Patrick Harris the flawless host for this live one-hour show that is unlike anything else now on American television.

Harris, in a way, risked death, too. As an example of that faith in the power of on-air bonded celebrity hijinks, you have the show’s first guest announcer: Reese Witherspoon, unknowingly (or at least so the show said) recruited into a Wipeout/Ninja Warrior stunt with Harris on a suspended metal obstacle course. Harris combined mixologists, pogo stick acrobats, dancers, musicians, Witherspoon, Iseman, sidekick Nicole Scherzinger and even a child he nicknamed “Little NPH” for one big closing number that really sets the tone for how insane the show’s going to be.

That wasn’t all Williams got out of Harris!

In the quest to thwart delayed DVR viewing, “live” has become TV’s popular watchword.

The end came when Carrot Top showed up with a challenge that surprised Harris. Gloria Gaynor led awkward karaoke, with home viewers singing for cash. You don’t have to be sitting with your family having a good time. While the series had the feel of an old-time variety show, some of the most logical variety elements were noticeably scarce. Though it would have been hilarious to be sitting in that The Voice audience when Harris revealed himself, the hilarity didn’t exactly translate on his own show. That’s a low introductory yield, but I think Best Time Ever aspires to more than that and has some potential if its host, executive producer and do-everything star can find a way to be a little bit more generous about spreading the humor in what was initially a very internalized hour of variety programming. “It’s essentially seven shows happening simultaneously”.

The entire episode felt heavily influenced by its British counterpart, but no segment more so than the grand finale – The “End of the Show” Show.