Talk Shows

[Prof. Maxim Trevelyan]

A very widely spread television format is a talk show, where a host presents and then discusses a topic with one or more people.

I have two talk show hosts that I frequently follow, mostly online rather than on television, because I either cannot make the time the show is on or I do not have the channel. First one of those is Graham Norton. He is the talk show host of the Graham Norton Show, a British comedy chat show that is broadcast on BBC. Its episode run is usually around 45 to 50 minutes, where he spends his time talking with guests, mainly movie and TV celebrities, does skits and the famous "red chair" stories, where it is the audience members that tell a humorous story. They can be dumped from it if either Graham or the guests do not find the story funny.

Graham is perhaps the best (comedy) talk show host I ever watched. Sure, it is mostly gossip, funny moments and promotions for upcoming film or movie pieces, but it is just so hilarious. Even if you do not watch these type of shows, his short clips with guests on YouTube are priceless! That, and he is my go to Eurovision host each year.

On the informative side, I recently fell into the hole of John Oliver and his Last Week Tonight show. These episodes are shorter than Graham's, around 30-40 minutes. Each show, Oliver explores, in depth, a different subject, which can range from politics to small town mascots. What I love about Oliver is that he is not only informative, doing great research on the subject he is presenting to his audience, but his show is peppered with humor, smaller skits, analogies and other allusions to people that keep the attention of the viewer despite sometimes the show having a theme that one does not necessarily concern oneself with.

What are some talk shows you watch, if any? Do talk shows have a unique format in your country? Are there similarities to the talk shows I was talking about?