John Mulaney describes his weekly Netflix talk show as ‘a throwback in some ways’. Indeed, it seems to get inspiration from countless 20th-century Late-Night hosts, from Dick Cavett to David Letterman to Conan O’Brien.
“It’s almost like the way you might remember a number of shows from the past, but it’s not exactly how they were,” said Mr. Mulaney in an interview of his sun -drenched office in Hollywood. He was between meetings and prepared for the last episode of his show, “Everybodies Live”, which will appear on Wednesday at 10 p.m. Eastern.
“No element is new,” he added, “but the way they are laid out can feel a bit.”
Mr. Mulaney’s show represents an important test in the entertainment industry: can the traditional talk show format – with an opening monologue, famous guests, live musical versions, a sidekick – survival in the streaming era?
Or is the future of talk shows very different, and much more than … podcasts?
While the television industry has jumped to streaming, many old genres have happened. Prestige dramas, crime documentaries, reality TV, stand-up specials and even soap operas have been successfully crossed. But no talk shows.
Even on the traditional network and cable TV, ratings for talk shows have not fallen late at night and advertising income has fallen. The number of shows is also falling so much that last year’s Emmy Awards had one nominee less due to a lack of entries. This fall, CBS will abandon the programming of its 12.30 pm lock, the first time in three decades that the network will not have an original talk show in that small hour.
“Of all the legacy – broadcasting day parts – morning shows, evening news, late night – maybe late at night to the wooden chipper,” said Jim Bell, a former showrunner From “The Tonight Show” on NBC and now a senior executive for the Olympic Summer Games 2028 in Los Angeles. “It is expensive to make, hard to earn money and no longer view. It still has cultural juice, but from a business point of view it is the most vulnerable.”
Already in 2018 the five broadcast network Late-Night Shops organized by Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, James Corden and Seth Meyers-to estimate $ 439 million in combined advertising income, according to the directive, an ad data company.
By 2022, that figure had fallen to $ 277 million, Guideline said. Last year it fell to $ 220.6 million, almost a decrease of almost 50 percent compared to 2018.
Hosts in the late night remain big celebrities, but something that complicates the comparison for media executives.
“The hosts still matter,” said Mr. Bell.
Other types of talk shows do it perfectly.
“Hot Ones”, a digital interview series of celebrities held about spicy chicken wings, is a bona fide hit and a bid war for the streaming rights is expected this year. Jon Stewart’s time a week return to “The Daily Show” Last year, a blessing was for Comedy Central, smearing viral moments and lead higher reviews.
Moreover, many podcasts film their shows and find a large audience on YouTube. YouTube even has surpassed Spotify and Apple as the best platform for podcasts, according to various studies.
Since last year, podcast stars have had that signed the kind of media -Megadeals That used to be reserved for hosts in late night, news anchors of celebrities, large producers or the cast of ‘friends’. Those deals include Joe Rogan (reportedly $ 250 million), Alex Cooper ($ 125 million), the three hosts of “Smartless” ($ 100 million) and the brothers Jason and Travis Kelce (another $ 100 million).
Mr. O’Brien left quietly in the late night four years ago, but has had it A career Renaissance -Including some back-to-back hosting performances on the Oscars will be his podcast: “Conan O’Brien needs a friend.” (A Wonderfully popular appearance On “Hot Ones” did not hurt last year).
“The lines between podcasts and talk shows are becoming pretty blurred,” Ted Sarandos, co-chief executive of Netflix, mused during a recent win call. So much so that he added: “As the popularity of Videopodcasts grows, I suspect that you will see some of them find their way to Netflix.”
Before the show of Mr. Mulaney, who premiered in March, seemed to have come out of the traditional talk show format completely.
Star -comedians such as Chelsea Handler, Standard MacDonald, Joel McHale and Michelle Wolf all organized talk shows on Netflix who came and went in the late years. Sarah Silverman’s show on Hulu was canceled after two seasons, and even Mr. Stewart had a show (for Apple TV+) that struggled to get a grip.
Part of the problem could be that a layout that worked in traditional television for a long time may not work in a new medium.
“On digital platforms, such as YouTube or a tap, “So the size must adapt.”
Mr. Mulaney, a renowned stand-up comedian and comic writer, has almost accidentally organized a talk show. During the Netflix a joke comedy festival last May, he was assigned to produce a nightly live show, one that could organize the many comic legends in Los Angeles during the event.
Mr. Mulaney originally imagined a show that would be a bit ‘like MTV’, he said, where the host would serve as a sort of VJ, and introduced one strip and the next. He decided that he could host it himself, and it was not long before the concept started to change in the current iteration of the show.
“Then it became as if, well, people can come out and I will talk to them, and then they will sit there,” said Mr. Mulaney. “Then I interview people, and we do pieces. Like, we could not have been withdrawn in a more complicated way.”
Robbie Praw, vice-president of Netflix of stand-up and comedy formats, said in an interview that the company initially did not “look or wanted to do another talk show”. It was more interested in “In the company of John Mulaney” than in talk shows in general, he said, adding: “John is so single.”
The first season of the show, called “Everybodies in LA”, ran for all six episodes, but was a huge critical hit. Netflix went ahead and ordered 12 episodes for this year and changed the name to ‘Everybodies Live’.
There has been no shortage of guests of big name. Mr. Letterman, Mr. O’Brien, Tina Fey, Bill Hader and Ben Stiller, including comic super stars, have appeared this season.
And although the show follows one theme (planning a funeral, borrowing money, being fired), Mr. Mulaney does not follow in the footsteps of Mr. Colbert or John Oliver and devotes much of the show to the current political news cycle.
“I had a bit like that, what kind of show do I want to look?” Said Mulaney. “And it is not – because the soil is well covered by great people – a current ‘can you believe the sociopolitics story of the day?”
The implementation of “Everybody’s Live” can be an important evidence to determine whether streaming executives continue to take a stab in the size or stop completely. Mr. Mulaney strongly suggested that he would be interested in a different season.
It is not clear how the show performs, but crucial attention is more damped this season. The first episode appeared in the daily 10 most watched TV series from Netflix in the United States, but the show did not return in the following seven weeks.
Mr. Praw, the Netflix director, said that he was “extreme, extremely enthusiastic about the creative direction of the show.” He pointed out A comic bit In April – about two dozen men are next to each other on stage, ranging from five to seven feet long – while Mr. Letterman looked as a guest.
“At that moment I had goose bumps because it had echoes of everything I used to like about David Letterman,” said Mr. Praw. “And there David Letterman was on the couch. What a special moment”
He said that Netflix was not yet prepared to announce anything about a potentially third season.
“Every show we have ever done want us to see more people,” he said.
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