Talk show

Not to be confused with Tabloid talk show.

File:Teri Garr with David Letterman.jpg

David Letterman interviewing guest Teri Garr on Late Night with David Letterman in 1982.

Type of broadcast show centered around conversation

A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.[1][2][3] A talk show is distinguished from other television programs by certain common attributes.[4] In a talk show, one person (or group of people or guests) discusses various topics put forth by a talk show host.[5] This discussion can be in the form of an interview or a simple conversation about important social, political or religious issues and events.[6] The personality of the host shapes the tone of the show, which also defines the "trademark" of the show.[1][7] A common feature or unwritten rule of talk shows is to be based on "fresh talk", which is talk that is spontaneous or has the appearance of spontaneity.[1][3][7]

The history of the talk show spans back from the 1950s to the present.[8]

Talk shows can also have several different subgenres, which all have unique material and can air at different times of the day via different avenues.[9]

## Contents

* 1 Attributes
* 2 Subgenres
* 3 History
* 4 Talk shows around the world
* 4.1 Japan
* 4.2 South Korea and Taiwan
* 4.3 Nepal
* 4.4 Brazil
* 5 See also
* 6 References
* 7 Further reading

## Attributes[edit | edit source]

Beyond the inclusion of a host, a guest(s), and a studio or call-in audience, specific attributes of talk shows may be identified:

* Talk shows focus on the viewers—including the participants calling in, sitting in a studio or viewing from online or on TV.
* Talk shows center around the interaction of guests with opposing opinions and/or differing levels of expertise, which include both experts and non-experts.
* Although talk shows include guests of various expertise levels, they cater to the credibility of one's experiences and rationalities as opposed to educational expertise.
* Talk shows involve a host responsible for furthering the agenda of the show by mediating, instigating and directing the conversation to ensure the purpose is fulfilled. The purpose of talk shows is to either address or bring awareness to conflicts, to provide information, or to entertain.
* Talk shows consist of evolving episodes that focus on differing perspectives in respect to important issues in society, politics, religion or other popular areas.
* Talk shows are produced at low cost and are typically not aired during prime time.
* Talks shows are either aired live or are recorded live with limited post-production editing.[4]

## Subgenres[edit | edit source]

File:Oprah Logo.gif

Oprah Winfrey made the tabloid talk show popular.

There are several major formats of talk shows. Generally, each subgenre predominates during a specific programming block during the broadcast day.

* Breakfast chat or early morning shows that generally alternate between news summaries, political coverage, feature stories, celebrity interviews, and musical performances.
* Late morning chat shows that feature two or more hosts or a celebrity panel and focus on entertainment and lifestyle features.
* Daytime tabloid talk shows that generally feature a host, a guest or a panel of guests, and a live audience that interacts extensively with the host and guests. These shows may feature celebrities, political commentators, or "ordinary" people who present unusual or controversial topics.
* "Lifestyle" or self-help programs that generally feature a host or hosts of medical practitioners, therapists, or counselors and guests who seek intervention, describe medical or psychological problems, or offer advice. An example of this type of subgenre is The Oprah Winfrey Show, although it can easily fit into other categories as well.[6]
* Evening panel discussion shows that focus on news, politics, or popular culture (such as the former UK series After Dark which was broadcast "late-night").
* Late-night talk shows that focus primarily on topical comedy and variety entertainment. Most traditionally open with a monologue by the host, with jokes relating to current events. Other segments typically include interviews with celebrity guests, recurring comedy sketches, as well as performances by musicians or other stand-up comics.
* Sunday morning talk shows are a staple of network programming in North America, and generally focus on political news and interviews with elected political figures and candidates for office, commentators, and journalists.
* Aftershows that feature in-depth discussion about a program on the same network that aired just before (for example, Talking Dead).
* Spoof talk shows, such as Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Tim and Eric Nite Live, Comedy Bang! Bang!, and The Eric Andre Show, that feature interviews that are mostly scripted, shown in a humorous and satirical way, or engages in subverting the norms of the format (particularly that of late-night talk shows).

These formats are not absolute; some afternoon programs have similar structures to late-night talk shows. These formats may vary across different countries or markets. Late night talk shows are especially significant in the United States. Breakfast television is a staple of British television. The daytime talk format has become popular in Latin America as well as the United States.

These genres also do not represent "generic" talk show genres. "Generic" genres are categorized based on the audiences' social views of talks shows derived through their cultural identities, fondness, preferences and character judgements of the talk shows in question.[6] The subgenres listed above are based on television programming and broadly defined based on the TV guide rather than on the more specific categorizations of talk show viewers. However, there is a lack of research on "generic" genres, making it difficult to list them here. According to Mittell, "generic" genres is of significant importance in further identifying talk show genres because with such differentiation in cultural preferences within the subgenres, a further distinction of genres would better represent and target the audience.[6]

Talk-radio host Howard Stern also hosted a talk show that was syndicated nationally in the US, then moved to satellite radio's Sirius. The tabloid talk show genre, pioneered by Phil Donahue[10] in 1967[4] but popularized by Oprah Winfrey[11] was extremely popular during the last two decades of the 20th century.[12]

Politics are hardly the only subject of American talk shows, however. Other radio talk show subjects include Car Talk hosted by NPR and Coast to Coast AM hosted by Art Bell and George Noory which discusses topics of the paranormal, conspiracy theories, fringe science, and the just plain weird. Sports talk shows are also very popular ranging from high-budget shows like The Best Damn Sports Show Period to Max Kellerman's original public-access television cable TV show Max on Boxing.

## History[edit | edit source]

Talk shows have been broadcast on television since the earliest days of the medium. Joe Franklin, an American radio and television personality, hosted the first television talk show. The show began in 1951 on WJZ-TV (later WABC-TV) and moved to WOR-TV (later WWOR-TV) from 1962 to 1993.[8]

NBC's The Tonight Show is the world's longest-running talk show; having debuted in 1954, it continues to this day. The show underwent some minor title changes until settling on its current title in 1962, and despite a brief foray into a more news-style program in 1957 and then reverting that same year, it has remained a talk show. Ireland's The Late Late Show is the second-longest running talk show in television history, and the longest running talk show in Europe, having debuted in 1962.

Steve Allen was the first host of The Tonight Show, which began as a local New York show, being picked up by the NBC network in 1954. It in turn had evolved from his late-night radio talk show in Los Angeles. Allen pioneered the format of late night network TV talk shows, originating such talk show staples as an opening monologue, celebrity interviews, audience participation, and comedy bits in which cameras were taken outside the studio, as well as music, although the series' popularity was cemented by second host Jack Paar, who took over after Allen had left and the show had ceased to exist.

File:Paar and cavett 1973.JPG

Dick Cavett and Jack Paar

TV news pioneer Edward R. Murrow hosted a talk show entitled Small World in the late 1950s and since then, political TV talk shows have predominantly aired on Sunday mornings.

Syndicated daily talk shows began to gain more popularity during the mid-1970s and reached their height of popularity with the rise of the tabloid talk show. Morning talk shows gradually replaced earlier forms of programming — there were a plethora of morning game shows during the 1960s and early to mid-1970s, and some stations formerly showed a morning movie in the time slot that many talk shows now occupy.

Current late night talk shows such as The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Conan and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert have aired featuring celebrity guests and comedy sketches. Syndicated daily talk shows range from tabloid talk shows, such as Jerry Springer and Maury to celebrity interview shows like Live with Kelly and Ryan, Tamron Hall, The Wendy Williams Show, Steve Wilkos, The Ellen DeGeneres Show and The Kelly Clarkson Show to industry leader The Oprah Winfrey Show which popularized the former genre and has been evolving towards the latter. On November 10, 2010, Oprah Winfrey invited several of the most prominent American talk show hosts - Phil Donahue, Sally Jessy Raphael, Geraldo Rivera, Ricki Lake, and Montel Williams \- to join her as guests on her show. The 1990s in particular saw a spike in the number of "tabloid" talk shows, most of which were short-lived and are now replaced by a more universally appealing "interview" or "lifestyle TV" format.[13]

Talk shows have more recently started to appear on Internet radio. Also, several Internet blogs are in talk show format including the Baugh Experience.[citation needed]

The current world record for the longest talk show is held by Rabi Lamichhane from Nepal by staying on air for 62 hours from April 11 to 13, 2013 breaking the previous record set by two Ukrainians by airing the show for 52 hours in 2011.[14]

In 2020, the fear of the spread of the coronavirus led to large changes in the operation of talk shows, with many being filmed without live audiences to ensure adherence to the rules of social distancing.[15][16] The inclusion of a live, participating audience is one of the attributes that contribute to the defining characteristics of talk shows.[4] Operating without the interaction of viewers created difficult moments and awkward silences to hosts who usually used audience responses to transition conversations.[15][16]

## Talk shows around the world[edit | edit source]

### Japan[edit | edit source]

File:Tetsuko Kuroyanagi cropped 1 Tetsuko Kuroyanagi 201511.jpg

Tetsuko Kuroyanagi

Tetsuko's Room (徹子の部屋, Tetsuko no Heya) is a talk show hosted by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi and broadcast on TV Asahi from February 2, 1976, every Monday to Friday from 13:00 to 13:30 (JST). It is a long-lived program, and as of 2022, it has been broadcast for 47 years and more than 11,000 times, repeatedly winning Guinness World Records.

In Japan, panel shows called tōku bangumi (トーク番組) are very commonplace, accounting for about 30% of daytime and prime-time programming on the four main television stations. Due to language and cultural differences, Japanese TV stations could not freely use syndicated programs (mostly from Europe and North America) and therefore turned to panel shows, which could be produced cheaply and easily, to fill time during daytime programming.

Japanese panel shows are distinct in generally not employing regular panelists but instead having a panel made up of different freelance comedians and celebrities each program, although the program is generally hosted by the same compere. Talk shows evolved in tandem with the Japanese variety show and it is very common for talk shows to borrow variety elements, typically by having celebrity guests attempt some kind of amusingly incongruous activity. Often, one of the guests will be a gaijin tarento (foreign talent) in order to provide comedy or to comment on matters related to Western culture. Comedic material is commonly written and rehearsed before tapings with or without a live audience.

### South Korea and Taiwan[edit | edit source]

Korean and Taiwanese talk shows have used the panel format similar to Japanese programs and rely on famous celebrities and comedic banter than topics. Their programs often shorten interviews from lengthy tapings.

### Nepal[edit | edit source]

Rabi Lamichhane from Nepal holds the present world record for longest ever talk show.

### Brazil[edit | edit source]

In Brazil, Jô Soares inaugurated the genre with Jô Soares Onze e Meia ("Jô Soares Eleven Thirty") from 1988 to 1999 on SBT. In 2000, Soares took his show's format to TV Globo, where it was then called Programa do Jô, and was broadcast until 2016. Jô's main competitors at the time were Danilo Gentili and Fábio Porchat.

## See also[edit | edit source]

* Talk radio

## References[edit | edit source]

1. ^ a b c Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler (2010) Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show, pp.3-4
2. ^ Erler, Robert (2010) "A Guide to Television Talk," in Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show, by Bernard M. Timberg
3. ^ a b Erving_Goffman (1981) Forms of Talk pp.234-160
4. ^ a b c d Ilie, C. (2006), "Talk Shows", Encyclopedia of Language & Linguistics, Elsevier, pp. 489–494, doi:10.1016/b0-08-044854-2/00357-6, ISBN 978-0-08-044854-1
5. ^ Stelter, Brian (September 30, 2010). "Anderson Cooper to Host Daytime Talk Show". NYTimes.com. Retrieved July 3, 2011.
6. ^ a b c d Mittell, Jason (2003). "Audiences Talking Genre: Television Talk Shows and Cultural Hierarchies". Journal of Popular Film and Television. 31 (1): 36–46. doi:10.1080/01956050309602867. ISSN 0195-6051. S2CID 192159361.
7. ^ a b Television talk shows : discourse, performance, spectacle. Tolson, Andrew. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum. 2001. ISBN 0-8058-3746-9. OCLC 44592593.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: others (link)
8. ^ a b Hinckley, David (November 26, 1999). "Joe Franklin: Truth in Packaging". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on July 3, 2009. Retrieved January 1, 2008.
9. ^ Television talk shows : discourse, performance, spectacle. Tolson, Andrew. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum. 2001. ISBN 0-8058-3746-9. OCLC 44592593.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: others (link)
10. ^ Carter, Bill (February 26, 2003). "MSNBC Cancels the Phil Donahue Talk Show — New York Times". The New York Times. Retrieved July 3, 2011.
11. ^ Tannen, Deborah (November 28, 2009). "Op-Ed Contributor — Donahue Talked, Oprah Listened". NYTimes.com. Retrieved July 3, 2011.
12. ^ Carter, Bill (January 5, 1994). "Stern Reportedly Rules Out Late-Night TV Talk Show — New York Times". The New York Times. Retrieved July 3, 2011.
13. ^ "Donahue, Sally Jessy, Geraldo, Montel, Ricki: Talk Show Hosts—Where Are They Now?". Oprah.com. November 10, 2010. Retrieved July 3, 2011.
14. ^ "Nepali hosts longest-ever talk show". BBC News. April 13, 2013.
15. ^ a b Koblin, John (March 11, 2020). "TV Talk Shows Throw Out the Audience". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
16. ^ a b Emily, Yahr (March 13, 2020). "Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon go off the rails as their late-night shows have no audiences". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 21, 2020.

## Further reading[edit | edit source]

* Niven, David; Lichter, S. R.; Amundson, Daniel (July 2003). "The Political Content of Late Night Comedy". The Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics. 8 (3): 118–133. doi:10.1177/1081180X03008003007. S2CID 145298219.
* Priming Effects of Late-Night Comedy
* Late-Night Comedy and the Salience of the Candidates' Caricatured Traits in the 2000 Election

* v
* t
* e

Daytime television in the United States

Broadcast

Network|

* ABC
* The View
* GMA3: What You Need To Know
* CBS
* The Talk
* NBC
* The 3rd
* Today with Hoda & Jenna
* NBC News Daily
* Univision
* El Gordo y la Flaca
* UniMás
* ¿Quién Tiene la Razón?
* Casos de familia
* Laura
* Telemundo
* Suelta la sopa

Syndication|

* Access Daily with Mario & Kit
* Dr. Phil
* The Drew Barrymore Show
* The Jennifer Hudson Show
* Karamo
* The Kelly Clarkson Show
* Live with Kelly and Ryan
* Rachael Ray
* Sherri
* The Steve Wilkos Show
* Tamron Hall
* TMZ Live

Cable & streaming|

* Ora TV
* Larry King Now
* Politicking with Larry King
* Facebook Watch
* Steve

Former talk shows
(syndication)|

* The Ananda Lewis Show
* Anderson Live
* The Arsenio Hall Show
* Arthel & Fred
* Ask Rita
* Bethenny
* Better
* The Bill Cunningham Show
* The Bonnie Hunt Show
* The Brian McKnight Show
* Carnie!
* The Caroline Rhea Show
* The Charles Perez Show
* The Chevy Chase Show
* The Cindy Margolis Show
* CityLine
* A Closer Look with Faith Daniels
* Crazy Talk
* Danny
* Doctor and the Diva
* The Doctors
* Donny & Marie
* The Ellen DeGeneres Show
* FABLife
* Face the Truth
* Forgive or Forget
* Gabrielle
* The Gayle King Show
* George & Alana
* Geraldo
* Good Day Live
* The Good Dish
* The Gordon Elliott Show
* The Gossip Queens
* The Greg Behrendt Show
* Harry
* Howard Stern Radio Show
* The Howie Mandel Show
* In Person with Maureen O'Boyle
* In the Loop with iVillage
* Iyanla
* The Jane Pauley Show
* The Jane Whitney Show
* The Jenny Jones Show
* The Jeff Probst Show
* The Jeremy Kyle Show
* The Jerry Springer Show
* The Jim J. and Tammy Faye Show
* The Joan Rivers Show
* The John Walsh Show
* Dr. Joy Browne
* Katie
* The Dr. Keith Ablow Show
* The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show
* The Larry Elder Show
* Dr. Laura
* Leeza
* Lifechangers
* Life & Style
* Living It Up! with Ali & Jack
* The Magic Hour
* The Mark Walberg Show
* The Marsha Warfield Show
* Martha
* Martha Stewart Living
* The Martin Short Show
* Maury
* The Megan Mullally Show
* The Mel Robbins Show
* Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus
* The Meredith Vieira Show
* The Montel Williams Show
* The Morton Downey Jr. Show
* The Nate Berkus Show
* Nick Cannon
* On Air with Ryan Seacrest
* The Oprah Winfrey Show
* The Other Half
* The Dr. Oz Show
* The Phil Donahue Show
* Pickler & Ben
* The Queen Latifah Show
* The Real
* The Richard Bey Show
* Richard Simmons' DreamMaker
* Ricki Lake
* The Ricki Lake Show
* The Robert Irvine Show
* The Rob Nelson Show
* Rolonda
* The Roseanne Show
* The Rosie O'Donnell Show
* Sally
* The Sharon Osbourne Show
* The Shirley Show
* Shop & Style
* Dr. Steve
* Steve Harvey
* Talk or Walk
* The T.D. Jakes Show
* The Tempestt Bledsoe Show
* The Test
* The Tony Danza Show
* Trisha
* The Tyra Banks Show
* Vibe
* Vicki!
* The Wayne Brady Show
* The Wendy Williams Show
* The Whoopi Goldberg Show

List|

List of American network TV daytime talk programs

* v
* t
* e

Current late night talk/news satire/comedy shows in the United States

Broadcast|

| ABC|

* Jimmy Kimmel Live!

|

CBS|

* The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
* The Late Late Show with James Corden

NBC|

* The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
* Late Night with Seth Meyers
* Saturday Night Live

PBS|

* Amanpour & Company

Cable|

| Bravo|

* Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen

|

Comedy Central|

* The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
* Hell of A Week with Charlamagne tha God

Fox News|

* Gutfeld!

HBO|

* Real Time with Bill Maher
* Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

National Geographic|

* StarTalk

Streaming|

| Apple TV+|

* The Problem with Jon Stewart

|

Peacock|

* The Amber Ruffin Show
* The Kids Tonight Show

List|

List of late-night American network TV programs

* v
* t
* e

Television production

Main / general|

* Audience
* Broadcast network
* History of television
* Television crew
* Television show
* Television studio

Places|

* Central apparatus room
* Changing room
* Master control room
* Network operations center
* Production control room
* Stage (theatre)
* Transmission control room

Profiles|

* Celebrity
* Director of network programming
* Host
* News presenter
* Sports commentator
* News director
* Showrunner

| Pre-production|

* Casting director
* Costume designer
* TV director
* Assistant director
* Location manager
* Make-up artist
* Production designer
* Researcher
* Set designer
* TV producer
* Television program creator
* Executive producer
* Line producer
* Production manager
* Writer
* Head writer
* Screenwriter
* Script editor
* Story editor

|

Production|

* Audio engineer
* Boom operator
* Camera operator
* Cinematographer
* Videographer
* Character generator (CG) operator
* Studio floor manager
* Graphics coordinator
* Stage manager
* gaffer
* grip
* Key grip
* Dolly grip
* Unit production manager
* Production assistant
* Gofer
* Stunt coordinator
* Technical director
* Television director
* Broadcast engineering
* Technical director

Post-production|

* Sound editor
* Foley artist
* Composer
* Colorist
* Editor
* Publicist
* Visual effects artist

Types, formats
and genres|

* Beauty pageant
* Broadcasting of sports events
* TV commercials
* Event television
* Game show
* Live television
* Variety show
* Police crime drama
* Reality television
* Television film
* Documentary film
* Mockumentary
* Television show
* Television special

| Series|

* Animated series
* Limited-run series
* Miniseries
* Procedural drama
* Serial
* Sitcom
* Soap opera
* Talk show
* Late-night talk show

|

News|

* Breaking news
* Debate show
* News broadcasting
* Political commentary
* Traffic reports
* Weather forecasts

|

Valuation|

* Audience measurement
* List of television awards
* Television content rating system
* Television criticism

Technical|

* Broadcast reference monitor
* Character generator
* Digital on-screen graphic
* Mixing console
* Microphones
* Multiple-camera setup
* Outside broadcasting
* Production truck
* Professional video camera
* Stage lighting
* Lighting control console
* Vision mixer

Issues|

* Agenda-setting
* Censorship
* Concentration of media ownership
* Counterculture
* Freedom of speech
* Freedom of the press
* Influence of mass media
* Media activism
* Media bias
* Media manipulation
* Public opinion

| Regulation|

* Broadcast law
* Bleep censor
* Communications law
* Entertainment law
* Fairness Doctrine
* Media policy
* Media reform
* Media regulation
* Pixelization

|

Theory|

* Media culture
* Media studies
* Television studies

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template