Why can't the UK sustain a mainstream evening chat show?
Discussion
How come the Americans are over-run with daily chat shows, not only Leno and Letterman but second tier hosts like Fallon, Kimmel and Craig Ferguson (is Conan O'Brien still around or is he still spending his big payoff?) whereas the UK hasn't had a daily show since "Wogan" in the 80s?
Even the recent weekly attempts (J. Ross, A. Carr, G. Norton etc.) seem to be over stylised shows where the host is more important than the guests.
It can't be a shortage of guests, there must be at least 5 household names looking to plug a new film or tv show in any given week.
I'm sure someone like Dara O'Brian could pull off a Leno-like show, do a few minutes standup on topical events, do a quick skit, interview some guest and then have a band on. A nice 30-mins on the BBC or an hour on ITV/C4.
I'd watch it.
Even the recent weekly attempts (J. Ross, A. Carr, G. Norton etc.) seem to be over stylised shows where the host is more important than the guests.
It can't be a shortage of guests, there must be at least 5 household names looking to plug a new film or tv show in any given week.
I'm sure someone like Dara O'Brian could pull off a Leno-like show, do a few minutes standup on topical events, do a quick skit, interview some guest and then have a band on. A nice 30-mins on the BBC or an hour on ITV/C4.
I'd watch it.
As people have Egos.
All the presenters there make the show format more about them and less about the interviewees.
Ross did perfectly well for many years and his show was running for 10 ish years.
I think there would be quite a few people who could take over what Ross did simply by cutting down the ego.
Norton could never be mainstream enough due to his sometimes crude comments, Carr can't as he is s
t.
Dara would be a good choice.
All the presenters there make the show format more about them and less about the interviewees.
Ross did perfectly well for many years and his show was running for 10 ish years.
I think there would be quite a few people who could take over what Ross did simply by cutting down the ego.
Norton could never be mainstream enough due to his sometimes crude comments, Carr can't as he is s
t.Dara would be a good choice.
Ross is/was as good as his American counterparts, no reason why he can't do the same again at ITV or wherever it is he is now.
I don't mind watching Alan Carr as he can be amusing. Graham Norton just comes across as obnoxious and condescending, still watch it if he has someone interesting on though.
I don't mind watching Alan Carr as he can be amusing. Graham Norton just comes across as obnoxious and condescending, still watch it if he has someone interesting on though.
Just as an aside to this - I used to hate Graham Norton with a passion. Couldn't stand him.
And then I listened to him on "Just a Minute" (the Radio4 panel game). He is genuinely funny, exceptionally clever and seemingly just a spot on bloke.
I've never had my opinion of someone change so dramatically!
And then I listened to him on "Just a Minute" (the Radio4 panel game). He is genuinely funny, exceptionally clever and seemingly just a spot on bloke.
I've never had my opinion of someone change so dramatically!
TonyHetherington said:
Just as an aside to this - I used to hate Graham Norton with a passion. Couldn't stand him.
And then I listened to him on "Just a Minute" (the Radio4 panel game). He is genuinely funny, exceptionally clever and seemingly just a spot on bloke.
I've never had my opinion of someone change so dramatically!
I've always kind of liked Norton. People often have different stage persona depending on the medium they are operating in. Radio tends to bring out the more intelligent side of a person than TV does.And then I listened to him on "Just a Minute" (the Radio4 panel game). He is genuinely funny, exceptionally clever and seemingly just a spot on bloke.
I've never had my opinion of someone change so dramatically!
Ross also is more listenable on the radio. I can't stand his TV persona but he is far more bearable on the radio.
Paul Merton is one who seems to function equally well in both.
the problem with talk shows is that by the time they get on tv you;ve heard them on the radio or an earlier programme or breakfast tv or internet etc...
talk shows used to be about learning about celebs, what they were up to and what they were like - we already knwo that from other sources so unless its an off the wall thing they get quite dull...
talk shows used to be about learning about celebs, what they were up to and what they were like - we already knwo that from other sources so unless its an off the wall thing they get quite dull...
Truckosaurus said:
How come the Americans are over-run with daily chat shows, not only Leno and Letterman but second tier hosts like Fallon, Kimmel and Craig Ferguson (is Conan O'Brien still around or is he still spending his big payoff?) whereas the UK hasn't had a daily show since "Wogan" in the 80s?
It can't be a shortage of guests, there must be at least 5 household names looking to plug a new film or tv show in any given week.
I'd watch it.
For any UK talk show to pull in a healthy audience on a daily basis it needs big name guests for almost every show.It can't be a shortage of guests, there must be at least 5 household names looking to plug a new film or tv show in any given week.
I'd watch it.
The US talk shows have Hollywood and all its stars on their doorstep whereas we don't.
Also, a daily talk show is a massive commitment for a host.
Each show takes all day to prepare and, I believe, the US hosts have hardly any/little holiday time off.
There is also an established history of late night talk shows on US TV whereas in the UK, there isn't - there was an interesting article about this on the BBC News website about this a while back but I can't seem to find it.
As you mention, Wogan was one of the last but that was early evening and with people working longer hours nowadays and the target audience for a US style talk show being younger, I don't think an early evening talk show would cut it in this day and age.
BTW, Conan is still on air, albeit on a little known station called TBS.
One of the best talk shows ever was Irish TV's "The Late Late Show". It began in 1962 and is still running - although its not as good as it used to be.
In its heyday, it was hosted (1962 to about 1990) by Gay Byrne. Being filmed in Dublin, they had even less access to "celebrities" than the likes of Parky so they had to rely on whoever they could get. As a result, politicians, sportsmen, doctors, psychiatists, charity workers or anybody with an interesting story to tell were featured as guests. This made the show far more interesting than if it had only featured TV and movie stars - although they did feature these if they were in town.
Some of the older Late Late Shows are available to view on You Tube and I would go have a look at them. Type in "Late Late Show Gay Byrne" as you may not want the later perrmutations with Pat Kenny or Ryan Turbidy.
Byrne had a style of interviewing which encouraged people to open up. Unlike many modern chat show hosts, he didn't try to dominate proceedings and he didn't try to be funny at the expense of his guests - which is the "modern" way.
Byrne could have been a major UK TV personality if he had chosen to work in Britain. He did work for Granada in Manchester for a while (he was the first man to interview The Beatles on British TV) but chose to live in Ireland when he got married and started a family.
In its heyday, it was hosted (1962 to about 1990) by Gay Byrne. Being filmed in Dublin, they had even less access to "celebrities" than the likes of Parky so they had to rely on whoever they could get. As a result, politicians, sportsmen, doctors, psychiatists, charity workers or anybody with an interesting story to tell were featured as guests. This made the show far more interesting than if it had only featured TV and movie stars - although they did feature these if they were in town.
Some of the older Late Late Shows are available to view on You Tube and I would go have a look at them. Type in "Late Late Show Gay Byrne" as you may not want the later perrmutations with Pat Kenny or Ryan Turbidy.
Byrne had a style of interviewing which encouraged people to open up. Unlike many modern chat show hosts, he didn't try to dominate proceedings and he didn't try to be funny at the expense of his guests - which is the "modern" way.
Byrne could have been a major UK TV personality if he had chosen to work in Britain. He did work for Granada in Manchester for a while (he was the first man to interview The Beatles on British TV) but chose to live in Ireland when he got married and started a family.
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