OprahWinfrey-related stories
Posted Nov 4th 2009 7:03PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: News, Talk Show, Reality-Free
If your TiVo or DVR can't get enough of the syrupy charm of the former Alaska governor, you might want to install a memory upgrade.
Barbara Walters will do a sit down with Sarah Palin on the heels of her new memoir,
Going Rogue, in a five-part series starting Nov. 17.
Five parts? Seriously? Wouldn't one suffice? She's only doing ONE interview with
Oprah Winfrey and Oprah is the supreme overlord of the female television universe. Does "a five-part series with Sarah Palin" meet the textbook definition of overkill?
Posted Oct 29th 2009 8:02PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Daytime, Celebrities, Talk Show
If things don't work out for
Project Runway winner
Christian Siriano in the fashion biz, he might want to consider a full-time gig as a talk show diva. As the number one guest on
The Oprah Winfrey Show today, Christian was fierce, fun and oh-so-comfy that at times I thought Ms. O had her own little Ed McMahon or Andy Richter... but with a lot more style.
Oprah devoted the show to reality TV and the big get was Adam Lambert, the runner up in last season's
American Idol. You wouldn't have guessed he was second place based on the assertion by Oprah that he was the top choice of her viewers when asked which reality star they wanted to see on her show.
I know I'm cynical, but I think it was planned. Adam's album is coming out on November 23 and there's already been lots of buzz, including
the CD cover.
Continue reading Oprah's real time with Christian Siriano and Adam Lambert
Posted Oct 26th 2009 2:30PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Celebrities, Talk Show, Pickups and Renewals, Casting, Reality-Free
Apparently, Jennifer Aniston has been hanging out with Chelsea Handler a lot. She's so impressed with
Chelsea Lately and the format of her show, that she's found a reason to come back to the small screen. Aniston mentioned it to Oprah Winfrey, who took the idea and ran with it.
See, Oprah is launching The Oprah Winfrey Network in 2010. Now, suddenly, she could have a very high-profile project to help promote the new channel: a
weekly talk show fronted by both Winfrey and Aniston. I've always found Aniston to be very friendly, funny and personable, so this could work out very well.
It's an interesting pairing, Oprah and Jen. I'm curious to see if the new venture will be formatted like a traditional late-night talk show, or more like the daytime staple Winfrey has mastered. I have a feeling Oprah will want to differentiate the two a bit more. Perhaps with Aniston's influence, there'll be a much more playful and comedic atmosphere. What do you think? Nothing's been signed yet, but would you watch Oprah and Jen helm a talk show?
Posted Sep 17th 2009 4:35PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Celebrities, Talk Show, Ratings, Reality-Free, Mad Men
Does it seem like somebody lit a fire under Oprah Winfrey? It seems like it to me. Her new season commenced this week with
the Whitney Houston two-parter, she's off to Central Park for tomorrow show which will relaunch Oprah's Book Club, and on Monday
Oprah's doing a flashback to the 1960's with Mad Men's Jon Hamm and January Jones as guests.
Continue reading What's gotten into Oprah?
Posted Sep 15th 2009 8:36PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Watercooler Talk, Celebrities, Talk Show, Reality-Free
If you tuned in to watch the first part -- day one -- of
Whitney Houston's interview with Oprah Winfrey yesterday, you weren't alone. The overnight ratings were gangbusters for
The Oprah Winfrey Show, the best premiere in three years, which is just what Oprah had in mind when her producers booked Whitney on her comeback trail.
And Whitney benefited, too. Her new CD debuted at number one on the Billboard chart, a fact confirmed at the end of the second half that was broadcast today. So Whitney won and Oprah won and Clive Davis was happy and smiling, probably because he had orchestrated the whole thing behind the scenes.
Continue reading Whitney on Oprah, day two
Posted Sep 15th 2009 3:12AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Watercooler Talk, Celebrities, Talk Show, Reality-Free
Yesterday was the season premiere of
The Oprah Winfrey Show and the big "get" -- as you probably know -- was a two-part interview with
Whitney Houston. According to Oprah, this was the best interview she's ever done. Now, was that hype or was it really a great interview?
Judging by part one, it was a pretty powerful interview for Oprah. She was on her game. The setting was an empty theater, just Oprah and Whitney. Presumably, this was a no-holds-barred session, so I expected Oprah to ask the tough questions about Whitney's dysfunctional marriage to Bobby Brown, her drug use, the days she spent holed up in a stupor. It wasn't exactly A&E's
Intervention, but for Oprah, it was penetrating.
Continue reading Whitney on Oprah: part interview, part intervention
Posted Sep 14th 2009 11:48PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Music and Variety, Celebrities, Talk Show, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S01E01) A lot is riding on this little NBC pet project. Like one-third of their primetime lineup. But despite all their promises and promotions that this was a comedy show, vastly different than Jay Leno's work on
The Tonight Show, I saw virtually the same exact show on a different set. That's not necessarily a bad thing if you're NBC. Leno was incredibly successful for a long time on that show. Just call it what it is.
The promise that it would stay topical was brought to fruition. In the opening monologue, just like those
Tonight Show monologues of yore, he drops a joke right away about the situation last night at the
Video Music Awards involving Kanye West and Taylor Swift. Conveniently, Kanye was a booked guest tonight, as well, so with a little shuffling, he wound up on the chair next to Leno to talk about it.
Continue reading The Jay Leno Show: Jerry Seinfeld (series premiere)
Posted Sep 11th 2009 7:04PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Programming, Daytime, Talk Show, Reality-Free
Has television come full circle? Oprah Winfrey has her own radio station over on Sirius XM Radio (of course she does). But starting September 14, you'll be able to catch
repeats of The Oprah Winfrey Show on Winfrey's Harpo Radio the day after they air on television. She also plans to air classic episodes from her 20 year run on the radio network.
We've seen radio talk shows, like Howard Stern, Bob & Tom and even Rush Limbaugh, come to television, but this may be the first time the reverse has happened. Certainly it's the first time for Oprah's show. It's an interesting experiment. Satellite radio, like cable television, offers the chance for radio to expand beyond the expectations of over-the-air radio.
That means, radio can explore the world it used to dominate before television took over. Back then, most of our favorite programs were radio programs. Oprah's talk show is a good fit for the audio environment, as you generally don't need to see what she's talking about to get it. But could you imagine our dramas or comedies on the radio?
Posted Sep 5th 2009 10:02AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Celebrities, Talk Show, Reality-Free
Yesterday, we wrote about Chris Brown's appearance on
Larry King Live, where he tried to ameliorate his image. As
Jane pointed out, Chris didn't really say very much. On the other hand, in the new
People magazine, Brown has opened up and put his foot directly in his mouth.
Chris Brown is ticked off with Oprah Winfrey and thinks she owes him an apology. Or so it seems.
Brown was offended that Oprah did a show last March about domestic violence, based on Brown's public assault on his lover, the singer Rihanna. The incident took place in a car after they had both been to the Grammys. Brown was found guilty, ordered to stay away from Rihanna, sentenced to five years of probation, one year of domestic violence counseling, and six months of community service.
Continue reading Chris Brown is ticked off at Oprah
Posted Sep 2nd 2009 6:26PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Daytime, Celebrities, Talk Show, Reality-Free
If you just watched the crowd while
Whitney Houston performed in Central Park on Good Morning, America today, you might have thought that Whitney was doing great. However, if you had the volume on, you know better.
Sadly, Whitney Houston's
GMA appearance was sad. Her voice cracked and she seemed to be struggling to sing one of her biggest hits, "I'm Every Woman," which ironically was used as the theme for
The Oprah Winfrey Show for years. I say ironically because Whitney explained to the fans at one point that her voice was a wreck because she had talked too much during her appearance on
Oprah earlier in the week. Ouch!
The entire appearance was enough to make you cringe. At one point, Whitney called her daughter, Bobbi Kristina, out to the stage to sing with her. Bobbi has grown into a beautiful young woman from the teenager she was on
Being Bobby Brown, the infamous Bravo reality show starring Whitney and then hubby Bobby.
Continue reading Whitney Houston's cringeworthy GMA appearance
Posted Sep 2nd 2009 9:02AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: TV Royalty, OpEd, Celebrities, Reality-Free
Michigan Avenue, also known as the "Magnificent Mile" in Chicago
will be closing down part of the street so Chicago's own Oprah Winfrey can do a live location taping to open her 24th season. It will no doubt be a show so ostentatious and so grand that it could only be Oprah. Naturally, since Oprah is generous to her people, the show and its accompanying performance by the Black Eyed Peas is free and open to the public.
It's hard to believe that Oprah is going into her 24th season. Actually, it's not that hard, as it feels like Oprah has always been around. Oprah is likely such a big part of the economy of Chicago that she probably has the Mayor in twice a week to clean her apartment.
If this is how the Queen of Daytime Television is starting her 24th season, how is she going to top it when she starts her Silver Anniversary season? Will she simply given a thousand bucks to every person in Chicago?
Posted Aug 8th 2009 11:02AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: OpEd, Celebrities, Reality-Free
A poet named Damon Lloyd Goffe is suing Oprah for
one trillion dollars. Yes, with a "t". Reportedly, Oprah plagiarized some of his poetry in her Internet-published work "Pieces of my Soul." I have to hand it to this guy's ingenuity. If any celebrity out there has a trillion dollars on hand, it's Oprah.
I'm going on a limb and guessing this guy isn't going to win. It would likely cost her a lot less to buy off the jury, judge, bailiffs and the rest of the city of Chicago.
On the very unlikely chance he does win, he'll get less than the asking price. Doing so would require Oprah to admit fault and I'm not sure she's capable of that.
It seems more like a big publicity stunt like the people that sue Dan Brown, J.K. Rowling or Stephanie Meyer. One thing is for certain. Whether he succeeds or fails, he will not be featured on Oprah's Book Club.
Posted Jul 1st 2009 11:03AM by Eliot Glazer
Filed under: OpEd, Video, Web, Talk Show
The late eighties and early-to-mid nineties brought out some of the filthiest, bottom-feeding talk shows our country has ever seen. From Morton Downey Jr. and Sally Jesse Raphael to
Jerry Springer and
Maury Povich, it was the era when "trash TV" became a symbol of a country's swift spiral down one giant cultural toilet in opposition to people like
Larry King and
Oprah Winfrey, who effortlessly made interviews with, like,
Fran Drescher come off looking like
Masterpiece Theater.
Around the latter half of the "boom" came
Ricki Lake, the formerly obese star of
Hairspray (no, seriously, that was basically her résumé), with a show that combined the usual elements of trashy talk (read: "freaks") with something impossibly dumber yet: catchphrases. Unlike today, when it takes weeks to months for squawk-boxes to latch onto cultural buzzwords like "metrosexual" and "baby daddy," Ricki Lake was trotting out episode "subjects" like "You're not all that!" and "Dump that zero and get yourself a hero!"
Naturally, she was a smash.
Continue reading Ricki Lake Minisodes might be high art, right?
Posted May 11th 2009 11:03AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: OpEd, Daytime, Celebrities, Talk Show, Reality-Free
It was a nice idea. Oprah
does a promotion for Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) involving their new grilled chicken offering. She mentions on her talk show that the chain is offering a free grilled chicken meal if you hand in a downloadable coupon available at
Oprah.com. Sadly, it
didn't turn out so well for the franchise.
Oprah's insane popularity caused about a bazillion people to download the free meal coupon. So many, in fact, that KFC wasn't ready to give out so much free grilled chicken and has now offered rainchecks for the existing coupons.
Continue reading KFC and the power of Oprah
Posted May 4th 2009 3:35PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Industry, Celebrities, Talk Show
Being Oprah's buddy is never bad for one's career. And like former frequent guest stars Rachael Ray and Dr. Phil, now actress, author and former
Playboy playmate
Jenny McCarthy is poised to be the next "Big O" thing. She has inked a multiplatform deal with Harpo Productions to develop projects of all different kinds, including a talk show of her very own.
While her career may have started in nudity and comedy, she's more recently become known for her books, and her activism in the fight against autism, which her son has.
Continue reading Jenny McCarthy getting the Oprah seal of approval, which may include a talk show
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