I'm a long-time, big fan of the show - see my credentials: the "Save the Besties" post history back in the day. I'm a fan of each host individually and I enjoy the group's dynamic of kind camaraderie, mature critique, and stupid silly nonsense.
The host absences are absolute poison for the show. I thought Frush was putting us on this morning when he said that a guest is filling in for 3 hosts. Typically, the absences don't annoy me, but why would I tune in for this episode when 3/4 of what brings me to the show is missing? To me, it speaks to a lack of interest and commitment from the hosts, which translates cleanly into a lack of interest and commitment from the listeners.
And let alone listeners, why would advertisers buy airtime on their show if the hosts can't even be bothered to show up to record?
The McElroy's are on tour - fine, they knew about this tour. Most outfits would bank an episode or two to cover this and demonstrate some degree of professionalism. Knowing nothing of the backstage dynamic, if I were Plante or Frush, I would resent how beholden the overall production seems to be to the McElroy's current situation. Can't hate on Plante spilling water on his board, but within the context, it's also a bad look when a technical mishap can just wreck your shop, no redundancy, no backup plan, leading to a decision to record the show with 1/4 hosts, seemingly on the fly (by Frush's tone), with a I'm sure somewhat bewildered guest.
The McElroys are really firing on all cylinders in a huge return to form across all their main platforms, TAZ and MBMBAM have been on fire, even their ad reads are back to being fun, but it seems like The Besties is not included in that full court press.