Chris Evans has revived his 1990s chatshow TFI Friday with a new low-budget version, TFI: Unplugged, which began on YouTube in February and has now been picked up by Channel 4 for a six-episode run airing at 11pm on Fridays. Produced by Virgin Radio, where Evans hosts the breakfast show, the show features guests such as Danny Dyer, Chris Hemsworth, Bono and Noah Wyle in a small studio with a minimal crew.
The original TFI Friday was a cultural juggernaut in the 1990s, known for its laddish humour and musical performances from Britpop bands. However, the revival struggles to recapture that spirit, with a more restrained tone and a fraction of the original budget. Evans himself acknowledges this in a parody of the Netflix series Formula 1: Drive to Survive, describing the new show as 'like the old one – only 1% of the budget'.
The show includes segments with longtime sidekick Will Macdonald, who performs a beer-pouring stunt without using his hands, and features vintage clips from the original series, including an interview with David Bowie from 1999. Musical performances are a highlight, with present-day acts like Jack Savoretti and Indian superstar Shreya Ghoshal, who covers Coldplay's Fix You. However, the chat remains superficial, and the show lacks the provocative edge of its predecessor.
Channel 4 commissioning editor Cimran Shah praised the show as 'stripped-back, personality-led chat', but the original TFI was far from stripped-back, with its high-energy antics and controversial segments. The revival offers nostalgia for fans but fails to replicate the original's impact.
