Shear is best known for her role as a host of the USA Network's 1980s and '90s weekend B-movie show, USA Up All Night. From 1991 to 1998, she hosted in-studio and on-location segments that typically aired on Friday nights, replacing Comedian Caroline Schlitt (the Friday night host for the show's first few years). She also occasionally hosted the show with her Saturday counterpart, Gilbert Gottfried, in addition to making cameos on his edition. Her trademark manner of speaking the show's title, by raising her voice an octave when saying the word "Up", became a catch phrase. Shear also briefly hosted a comedy program called Spotlight Cafe on WWOR-TV in Secaucus, NJ, hosted previously by comic Judy Tenuta.