Extra Extra with Billy Bush is set to address the Trump tape -- and devote 30% to "how-the-sausage-gets-made footage"

The New York Times

Lisa Gregorisch-Dempsey, Extra's executive producer for the past 19 years, gave Bush his first big break as an Extra freelancer in 2001. Now she's invited him back to host a revamp of the show, titled Extra Extra, launching on Sept. 9. “I looked him in the eye and said, ‘I don’t know if you have enough humility for people to welcome you back,’” Gregorisch-Dempsey recalled of interviewing Bush three times before giving him the job as lead anchor. “America loves a comeback story. But we have to like you for America to like you.” During rehearsals last month, Bush asked if he should address his infamous Access Hollywood Trump tape on the first episode. “I think at the end of the show,” she said. “And you talk about how grateful you are for this chance — one, let’s not forget, given to you by a woman.” Extra Extra will be a different show with Bush, one that focuses less on the anchor reading the teleprompter and more on "how-the-sausage-gets-made footage." “This is watching a working journalist — a rarity in this genre — whose contacts in Hollywood are second to none,” Gregorisch-Dempsey said. “Watching Billy call stars directly. Watching him racing against deadline. Watching him greet the Real Housewife who unbelievably arrives for an on-set interview with a 10-person entourage.” The parts showing Bush behind the scenes will be in black and white with a blue digital clock counting down to deadline. Bush, for his part, tells The New York Times he still holds some resentment for his time at NBC, especially for his Today colleagues who sought to undercut him during his five months on the show. Bush added that he can promise his new boss one thing: "I will absolutely be better at my job than I ever was." Why? “Because I have empathy,” he said. “I do not like the tearing down of people and this lack of forgiveness and the shaming. I think the people I interview will appreciate that.”