TalkShow-related stories
Posted Nov 17th 2009 4:29PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Daytime, Celebrities, Talk Show, Reality-Free
I watched
The Oprah Winfrey Show yesterday to see the one on one between two of the most powerful and influential women in America. Whether you're a fan of Oprah Winfrey or
Sarah Palin, there was no doubt that they command a large chunk of public opinion. How could I not see what they would be like in an interview setting?
My impression was that they both were completely civil and reserved. I didn't pick up the makings of a great friendship, not that that was likely considering Oprah's support for President Obama.
Still, what I found interesting was that if you
read the body language experts, they're reporting that Sarah was not nervous. They're coming to that conclusion based on her ability to control her blinking. Over-blinking mean you're agitated and a normal blink per minute rate -- 30-40 blinks -- is normal. Sarah was blinking normally.
Continue reading Sarah Palin on Oprah and the blinking of her eyes
Posted Nov 15th 2009 3:07PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Industry, OpEd, Daytime, Celebrities, Talk Show, Reality-Free
There's a lot of speculation in the biz about
what will Oprah do next. The daytime talk show giant supposedly made up her mind recently and decided that her syndicated show,
The Oprah Winfrey Show, would end its run in syndication and move to OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network (formerly Discovery Health). An official announcement is anticipated before the end of the year, but is that really was Oprah has decided? Nobody knows for certain.
There are
pros and cons on either side. The companies that syndicated her talk show stand to lose a significant asset if she wraps up the current incarnation and abandons the market. Think of all those afternoon hours around that country that count on Oprah at three or four o'clock, or the morning slots where Oprah leads in to noon newscasts. Companies like CBS Distribution and the Tribune Company have feasted on the robust ratings Oprah has consistently delivered.
Continue reading What would you do if you were Oprah?
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 Oct 18th 2009 10:03AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Celebrities, Talk Show, Reality-Free
Do the people who "invented" the Snuggie know about the Toasty Wrap? Do you know that there are two very similar blankets with sleeves being sold everywhere? Are there more backward blankies out there that I've yet to see in an infomercial or commercial? (See what happens when you stop reading catalogs?) I feel so out of the loop!
Well,
Montel Williams has endorsed the
The Living Well Toasty Wrap Blanket. It's apparently part of his entire line of Living Well stuff. But is this really legit? How many ways can you make a blanket with sleeves?
Continue reading Do the Snuggie folks know about Montel Williams' Toasty?
Posted Sep 8th 2009 2:32PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, American Idol, Judges, Reality-Free
Oh sure, now that she's not there anymore, they miss her. Sounds like a familiar story, but this is
American Idol.
Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell are missing Paula Abdul at the judge's table. They're in the midst of the audition process, using guest judges like
Neil Patrick Harris and
Kristin Chenoweth, and Randy confessed that he's looked over for Paula during the process and wondered, "Where's my P?"
Simon, who seems to have a lexicon all his own, said that he misses Paula, too. But in his bizarre way with words, he compared the new
Idol atmosphere as different, like "comparing a carrot to a banana."
Continue reading So now Simon and Randy miss Paula
Posted Sep 2nd 2009 8:33AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, American Idol, Celebrities, Talk Show, Judges, Reality-Free
Paula Abdul needs some career advice. In the wake of her departure from
American Idol, the sometime choreographer/occasional singer and QVC pitch woman has been rumored to be doing all kinds of TV projects. Most have turned out to be rumors and nothing more, but in an interview with
TV Guide, Paula said there is a TV dream she covets.
Paula Abdul would like to host a TV talk show.
I can't imagine a worse TV vehicle for Paula, especially the kind of talk show she envisions. She said, "It would be a lot of fun variety with a ton of unexpected stuff and tributes to everyday people getting their big chance."
That sounds perfectly cloying, especially if you assume that Paula will be pretty much herself, pretty much like she was on
American Idol, which was uncritical, sweet, gentle and pleasantly unfocused.
Continue reading Could Paula Abdul thrive as a talk show host?
Posted Aug 1st 2009 12:05PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: OpEd, Celebrities, Cancellations, Reality-Free
Poor Marie Osmond. Apparently, her upcoming daytime talk show
has been pulled already due to poor ad sales, despite being cleared on stations reaching 80% of the TV audience. It was going to be broadcast from Las Vegas where she and her brother Donny are performing nightly at the Flamingo Hotel as a result of selling their souls.
I guess that
Dancing With The Stars career boost didn't really pay off. Or perhaps it was just unfortunate circumstances given how the economy is tanking. However, things are getting better and it's entirely possible that she'll be back in the talk show market in a few years.
I recognize that the
Donny and Marie talk show lasted two seasons, but isn't that the franchise that most people recognize nowadays when then think of her (if they're of a certain age)? Her previous solo variety show in 1980 only lasted a year. Does she think that this talk show would last longer?
Posted Jul 7th 2009 11:00AM by John Scott Lewinski
Filed under: Sports, News, Programming, Celebrities, Talk Show
Dan Patrick is taking his radio talk show to TV. Unlike his former ESPN comrade Keith Olbermann, Patrick will thankfully be sticking to sports.
Beginning Monday, August 3rd,
The Dan Patrick Show will air weekday mornings from 9 AM to noon ET/PT on DIRECTV's 101 Network.
According to the network, the show will boast "an unpredictable, anything-can-happen format that will use Patrick's trademark humor and interaction with his production staff to create a unique blend of situational comedy and sports radio commentary."
In other words, he's just going to stick a camera in front of his
radio show. And, considering that show is nationally syndicated across the U.S. and Canada -- including Sirius and XM satellite radio -- you can't blame him for staying with what works.
Continue reading Dan Patrick taking his radio show to DIRECTV
Posted Feb 20th 2009 6:03PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Late Night, OpEd, Reality-Free
The last week ever of
Late Night with Conan O'Brien was bound to include a few shockers. And while I'm still hoping that one of them won't be the failure to launch of Andy Richter's homecoming, another bigger staple came to an end and was probably followed by a long nap and an anthill of shame and loneliness.
Conan held a going away sketch for one of the show's most popular and least marketable characters, the Masturbating Bear.
If you haven't seen this infamous character "in action," feel yourself (not that way sicko) among the fortunate because it's one of the most hilarious and personally shameful moments you will ever experience in your life. Greater even than your prom, your cousin's drunken wedding and your first college beer party where you woke up with one less eyebrow combined.
Continue reading The Masturbating Bear... who loves ya baby? - VIDEO
Posted Feb 3rd 2009 7:33PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Sports, Celebrities, Reality-Free
As anyone who follows sports on TV knows, Bob Costas is a baseball guy. He loves, loves, loves the National Pastime. Therefore, since NBC has not had major league baseball for years, it's been rough on Bob. He's managed to keep his love for the game alive with books and speeches and as part of his work for HBO. Well, now he's going to be doing a lot more baseball.
Bob Costas is upping his commitment to the MLB Network, and leaving HBO. When the new baseball channel launched on January 1, 2009, included in the charter line up
All Time Games, the rebroadcasting of vintage baseball games with Costas as the host.
Continue reading Costas drops HBO for more MLB Network
Posted Jan 16th 2009 1:07PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Late Night, Programming, Reality-Free
One of television's least appreciated talk shows is one step closer to getting some real estate in Fox's front store window.
Starting this Saturday,
Talkshow with Spike Feresten will have one-hour episodes instead of the measly little piecemeal 30 minutes Fox has been giving it.
Still not convinced that Fox is giving this show the treatment it deserves? It's not only giving it more time, but it's also bumping it ahead of
Mad TV for six whole weeks
. Wow, maybe this means Fox will give Mike Judge a new animated show and will replace it ... with
Family Guy.
Continue reading Spike Feresten gets 30 more minutes of eyeball time - VIDEO
Posted Oct 3rd 2008 12:03PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: News, OpEd, Reality-Free
Like a large number of Americans, I watched last night's vice presidential debate between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden with great interest. And, like most Americans, I was interested in the debate for reasons other than finding out about each ticket's policy views. I wanted to see Palin and Biden screw up. Big time.
Unfortunately (heh), both did fine. Palin spoke in complete sentences that more or less made sense, even if they didn't answer any of Gwen Ifill's questions; Biden didn't ramble on or say that FDR was the president during the stock market crash of 1929. But I don't know if you can attribute this debate's gaffelessness on the poise of the candidates alone. The format of the debate was so restrictive, it didn't give either of them time to go off on screwy tangents.
Wouldn't it have been better if both could just sit in a couple of chairs and speak freely? You know, like on a talk show?
Continue reading Why can't debates be more like talk shows?
Posted Jul 20th 2008 9:09AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Celebrities, Reality-Free, America's Got Talent
It would seem that sooner or later everyone in show business will get a shot at a talk show. After all, if Rachael Ray can win an Emmy as a talk show host, and a one-time respected anchorman like Maury Povich can have 20 years of syndicated talk success, why not give every Tom, Dick, and Megan Mullally a chance.
NBC reportedly thinks Piers Morgan could be the next big thing in talk. The bitter Brit, a personality as caustic as Simon Cowell, was the winner of
The Celebrity Apprentice and is the nastiest judge on
America's Got Talent. Morgan has a
two-year deal with ITV and is on the verge of inking a similar contract with NBC. The idea is that he could be the next David Frost.
Continue reading A talk show for Piers Morgan ... perhaps
Posted Jul 11th 2008 4:39PM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Programming, Celebrities, Talk Show
Before
Lifetime snagged Bravo's Project Runway, it got its hands on
Queer Eye for the Straight Guy star Carson Kressley. Lifetime tapped Kressley to host the feel-good show
How to Look Good Naked, and now it looks like the cable net wants to keep the
Kressley train moving by giving him his own talk show.
The standard Monday-Friday talk show format is rare on cable nets, but is in line with Lifetime's plan to change its image from the "woman being beaten, kidnapped, set on fire, but ultimately triumphing in the end" movies/
Golden Girls network to something younger and hipper -- basically Bravo with a female slant. Kressley's chat fest is supposed to focus on his talent for fashion and will feature a mix of studio and field segments that feature him offering insight and advice to "everyday" people.
Continue reading Carson Kressley expands his Lifetime empire
Posted Jul 11th 2008 4:23PM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: Industry, Programming, Celebrities, TCA Press Tour, Reality-Free
At TCA yesterday, two very big stars were on hand to discuss their new shows. Spike Lee attended the ESPN Films panel to promote his documentary
Game Day with Kobe Bryant. And Elvis Costello was on hand at the Sundance Channel panel to talk about
Spectacle: Elvis Costello with..., his new talk show.
ESPN announced several film projects, both documentary and theatrical. The network will be presenting four documentaries this fall, one of which is by acclaimed director Spike Lee. On the surface the film seems pretty bland; it's just cameras following Kobe Bryant around on game day. But I'm sure you want to hear what Lee said about his film.
Continue reading Spike Lee and Elvis Costello talk new projects - TCA Report
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