Kathy Griffin 'Fashion Police' Premiere: How Did The Show Pay Tribute To Joan Rivers?

“Fashion Police” aired its first episode of the 2015 season a day after the ever-so-fashionable 72nd annual Golden Globe Awards. It was the first episode following the tragic death of the show’s original host Joan Rivers, who passed away in September after complications from vocal cord surgery. The fearless comedian was replaced by funny girl Kathy Griffin, who promised to uphold her old friend’s sassy ways.

"I just want to thank my good friend whom we all miss, Joan Rivers. So, Joan, I know you're watching from heaven, but don't get it twisted, I won't be afraid to bring the hammer down on anyone and everyone. I learned from the best," Griffin said of the fearless fashionista in the Season 5 premiere episode.

Before her hosting debut on “Fashion Police,” Griffin revealed during an interview with NBC that although she will fill Rivers’ heels as best as possible, viewers should anticipate a different comedic style. "I will continue, if nothing else, in her fearless style of taking no prisoners. But our styles were different, you know, I'm a different human being. I'm more improvisational, and I don't know what I'm going to say,” she said.

Griffin then dished to E! News what she imagined Rivers might have thought of her go-get-‘em attitude as a “Fashion Police” co-host. "She would always say, ‘Go for it. Don't ever hold back, and certainly not in comedy.' So I hope the celebrities remember that when I'm going for them in a humorous, loving way," Griffin explained. "I'm not going to hold back. Screw them all. Let's have some fun."

Giuliana Rancic, who co-hosted alongside Rivers since “Fashion Police” first premiered in 2010, paid her own special tribute to the TV personality with the launch of her brand-new blog.

"It has been a difficult transition the past few months without our Joan, but we all know that she would want the show to go on,” Rancic wrote in the first entry of her revamped online journal. “We have her incredible daughter, Melissa, back as our executive producer, and she will always be the link back to Joan. We will always think of her on set and we know that she will be watching over and laughing alongside us."

“Fashion Police” airs Monday at 9 p.m. EST on E!