daytime talk shows

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Donahue led the golden years for daytime talk

Phil Donahue, who died Sunday at 88, reflected a time when we could find neat surprises in odd parts of the day.
There were entertaining shows – Merv Griffin, Mike Douglas, Dinah Shore, Rosie O’Donnell, Ellen DeGeneres. And there were the two masters who could do it all – Donahue (shown here) and Oprah Winfrey.
And yes, those entwined. As a kid, O’Donnell would rush home from school to watch Griffin; Winfrey has said there would be no “Oprah” show if there wasn’t a “Donahue.”
Those two might talk lightly with stars one day … do family issues the next (Donahue even had on-air DNA tests) … then tackle major issues. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 19, 2024
Stories

Talk shows return Sept. 18 — but not latenight ones

In the wounded world of broadcast TV, Monday (Sept. 18) is now important. The talk shows return.
Not the big ones, however. All of those – Fallon, Kimmel, Colbert, Meyers, Oliver and “The Daily Show” – remain in eternal reruns, due to the writers’ and actors’ strikes.
Still, several other shows will start their seasons Monday. The Drew Barrymore (shown here), Sherri Shepherd and Jennifer Hudson shows are all syndicated on a station-by-station basis; “The Talk” is on CBS.
They join several shows that had already returned – “The View” on ABC, “Live with Kelly & Mark” and the Tamron Hall show in syndication. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 13, 2023
Stories

Drew Barrymore: She’s done it all … and is happy to talk

Heading into her new talk show, Drew Barrymore has one big advantage.
She’s already seen it all, done it all, been it all. And most of that was decades ago.
“I hosted (‘Saturday Night Live’) when I was 7 years old,” she reminded TV critics. Then came the wilder years, when she was “blacklisted at 12. (When) you’re on the cover of the Natonal Enqurier at 13 years old for being institutionalized, there’s not much people can throw your way.”
All of that is deep in the past. Now she’s 45, thrice-divorced, with two young children and a life she once described as “almost a nun.” And she’s ready to talk; she always has been. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 11, 2020