The Russell Howard Hour
The Russell Howard Hour is a British topical comedy news show, which airs on Sky One and is hosted by Russell Howard where he gives his thoughts and opinions on current topics as well as featuring special guests and other stand-up comedians. The show is in a similar style to his previous show, Russell Howard's Good News, which aired on BBC Three and then BBC Two from 2009 to 2015.
On 28 November 2017, it was announced that the show had been recommissioned for a second series, which began on 8 November 2018. Unlike the first series, the second series does not have a stand-up guest. Instead there is a segment titled "Live Forever" where Howard and another comedian test ways to live longer.
On 24 January 2019, it was announced that the show had been recommissioned for a third and fourth series. In Series 3, there was a segment called "Play Date" which showed Howard spending time with a celebrity.
In Spring 2020, shortly after the end of series 3, the fourth series was revealed to be delayed until early Autumn that year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result, Howard created a spin-off series called "Russell Howard's Home Time", featuring a similar format as the original show, except for a shorter 30-minute episode runtime. The programme was filmed at his home in Bath, Somerset due to social distancing measures, and began on 9 April 2020, running for 9 episodes.
Transmissions
Viewing figures
Episode viewing figures from BARB's Top 10 Programmes until September 2018 and the Four-screen Dashboard for September 2018 onwards.Series 1
Series 2
In series 2, the stand-up comic segment at the end of each episode was replaced with 'Live Forever.' In the segment, Howard and another comedian try an activity that is purported to improve health. Episode 7 was a Christmas Special.| Episode no. | Airdate | 7 day viewers | 28 day viewers | Sky One weekly ranking | Multichannels rank | Guest | Live Forever |
| 1 | 8 November 2018 | 0.51 | 0.55 | 6 | Rukmini Callimachi | Pantsdrunk with Greg Davies | |
| 2 | 15 November 2018 | 0.48 | 0.57 | 8 | Alesha Dixon | Chinese medicine with Jimmy Carr | |
| 3 | 22 November 2018 | 0.29 | 0.41 | 8 | Louis Theroux | Dead bodies with Rose Matafeo | |
| 4 | 29 November 2018 | 0.42 | 0.54 | 6 | Derren Brown | Cryotherapy with Paul Chowdhry | |
| 5 | 6 December 2018 | 0.48 | 0.54 | 4 | Michelle Wolf | Ice baths with Paul Chowdhry | |
| 6 | 13 December 2018 | 0.39 | 0.45 | 6 | Magid Magid | Shaman with Roisin Conaty | |
| 7 | 20 December 2018 | 0.53 | 0.64 | 6 | Chris O'Dowd | Choir singing with Joe Wilkinson | |
| 8 | 17 January 2019 | 0.40 | 0.46 | 7 | Rob Delaney | Bungee dance with Jessica Knappett | |
| 9 | 24 January 2019 | 0.49 | 0.54 | 6 | Will Poulter | Cuddle therapy with Jon Richardson | |
| 10 | 31 January 2019 | 0.40 | 0.46 | 9 | Mark Prince | Art therapy with Jo Brand | |
| 11 | 7 February 2019 | 0.35 | 0.41 | 9 | Jon Ronson | Goat yoga with Mo Gilligan | |
| 12 | 14 February 2019 | 0.35 | 0.43 | 7 | Stacey Dooley | Boxing with Joe Lycett | |
| 13 | 21 February 2019 | 0.34 | 0.39 | 8 | Richard Curtis | Museum of Happiness with Lou Sanders | |
| 14 | 28 February 2019 | 0.38 | 0.45 | 9 | Stephen Merchant | Ikigai with Iain Stirling and David Seaman |
Series 3
In series 3, the 'Live Forever' segment was replaced with 'Play Date.' In the segment, Howard and another comedian try an activity that they have never done before.''Russell Howard's Home Time''
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, series 4 was delayed until later in the year. This spin-off series filmed from Howard's home in Somerset features chats with celebrity guests, comedians and musical performances using Zoom. During the finale episode, Howard revealed that the regular show would return sometime in September 2020.| Episode | Original airdate | Guests | Celebrity/musical guests | Musical performance |
| 1 | 9 April 2020 | Glen Walton | Greg Davies and James Bay | "Hold Back the River" |
| 2 | 14 April 2020 | Aoife Abbey | Jon Richardson and Gavin Osborn | "Born in the NHS" |
| 3 | 16 April 2020 | Ninette Howard | Michelle Wolf, Geraint Thomas and Lady Leshurr | "Quarantine Speech" |
| 4 | 21 April 2020 | Hassan Akkad | Jack Whitehall and Serge Pizzorno | "Lockdown" |
| 5 | 23 April 2020 | Caitlin Grant | Guz Khan and Harry & Chris | "Lockdown Life" |
| 6 | 28 April 2020 | Lucy Craig | Stephen Merchant and Tom Grennan | "Oh Please" |
| 7 | 30 April 2020 | Lisa King | Louis Theroux and Guvna B | "Fall On Me" |
| 8 | 5 May 2020 | N/A | Joe Gilgun, Katherine Ryan and Zuzu | "How It Feels" |
| 9 | 7 May 2020 | The Corona Arms | Marc Maron and Tom Walker | "Leave a Light On" |
Series 4
On 7 May 2020, Howard revealed in his spinoff series finale that the fourth series of The Russell Howard Hour would return in September 2020. However, due to the ongoing pandemic situation, this will be the first series to have a smaller audience and skeleton crew, due to social distancing requirements.; Notes