Fox Sports 1 has just launched one of the most Pennsylvania-centric sports talk shows of all time.
“Speak,” a new FS1 show airing weekdays from 4:30-6 p.m., made its debut Tuesday alongside established FS1 programming like “Skip and Shannon: Undisputed” and “The Herd with Colin Cowherd.” Its hosts include former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Emmanuel Acho; former University of Pittsburgh and Eagles running back LeSean McCoy; and Joy Taylor, a Turtle Creek native and veteran FS1 television and radio personality.
The Post-Gazette caught up with Taylor shortly after she finished filming the first episode of “Speak,” which featured the three hosts talking about (among a slew of other topics) Penn State University alumnus and Dallas Cowboys outside linebacker Micah Parsons, the early-season buzz surrounding the Eagles and the Steelers’ quarterback situation. As Taylor put it, their shared passion for all things Pennsylvania sports is already “coming out a lot.”
“You’re going to get a lot of Pittsburgh references between me and LeSean and a lot of Pennsylvania love between the three of us,” she promised.
A year ago, the Post-Gazette chatted with Taylor about the premiere of “The Joy Taylor Show” on Fox Sports Radio. She won’t be continuing that solo radio effort now that “Speak” is officially a fixture on FS1’s weekday TV lineup, but Taylor said putting in that work every Saturday for close to a year “definitely helped me develop” and prepared her to co-host a daily sports opinion show.
Taylor has been at FS1 for 6½ years now. Tuesday happened to be both the inaugural episode of “Speak” and the anniversary of when “Undisputed” launched in 2016 with Taylor as its moderator. At this point, she considers herself “homegrown talent” at FS1 and said it’s “pretty amazing to now be hosting a show full time for the network.”
Earlier this week, Cowherd paid tribute to Taylor’s three years on “The Herd” as its news update anchor. He has been “an amazing mentor and teammate for me,” Taylor said, and her last appearance on “The Herd” was an emotional experience for both of them.
"The first day I was on the show, you actually told me to talk more. When you go, just go. Give your opinion."
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) September 5, 2022
Check out @JoyTaylorTalks on @SpeakOnFS1 starting tomorrow at 4:30 ET pic.twitter.com/p6Syu42xgp
“I’m glad Colin didn’t push me,” Taylor said. “We both don’t like to cry publicly, but we both are criers for certain things. It was definitely a nice moment and I’m glad we were able to share that moment with the audience.”
As Taylor described it, “Speak” is just three people in their 30s talking about sports “in an energetic way.” She, McCoy and Acho are more than aware that “Speak” is the last daily opinion show on FS1’s weekday schedule, so their collective aim is to “send people off into the evening with a lot of fun.”
It’s not a debate format like “Undisputed,” and it’s not a long-form show either, which is the jurisdiction of “The Herd.”
“It’s what we wanted it to be — fun, personality, strong opinion, and a group of people who love sports and love talking about sports,” Taylor said. “That’s what we’re going for, a great hang and a little glimpse inside the locker room.”
Speaking of locker rooms, Taylor also offered her takes on the playoff prospects of her two favorite football teams — the Steelers and Miami Dolphins — heading into the 2022-23 NFL season. On the Dolphins, she shouted out the hiring of new coach Mike McDaniel, “a lot of really aggressive moves this offseason” like acquiring receiver Tyreek Hill from the Kansas City Chiefs and a “wobbly division” as reasons to be optimistic about their chances of making the postseason.
Like most Steelers fans, Taylor is taking a wait-and-see attitude about how the QB situation plays out between starter Mitch Trubisky and first-round pick Kenny Pickett.
“I was kind of hoping that Kenny would win the starting job, just because I really like seeing young quarterbacks start right away,” she said. “But I like Mitch. I was higher than most people nationally when the signing happened, and I think he’ll do a nice job.”
You can bet that Taylor will be paying close attention to those two teams and the rest of the larger sports landscape as she, McCoy and Acho try to turn “Speak” into the next FS1 staple.
“It’s really important for me to be able to occupy that space with power and authenticity,” Taylor said. “It’s a dream come true, something I’ve worked toward for the last 15 years. It’s a pretty awesome moment.”
Joshua Axelrod: jaxelrod@post-gazette.com and Twitter @jaxelburgh.
First Published: September 8, 2022, 12:00 p.m.
