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Nightlife (talk show)

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Nightlife
Nightlife intertitle
Also known asNightlife Starring David Brenner with Billy Preston
GenreTalk show
Variety show
Developed byMotown Productions
King World
Presented byDavid Brenner
Narrated byDan Ingram
Theme music composerBilly Preston
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes195
Production
ProducerBob Tischler
Production locationsUnitel Video Studios[1]
East 76th Street
New York, New York
Running time30 minutes
Production companiesMotown Productions
King World
Original release
NetworkSyndication
ReleaseSeptember 8, 1986 (1986-09-08) –
June 19, 1987 (1987-06-19)

Nightlife is an American syndicated half-hour late-night talk show hosted by comedian David Brenner that aired weeknights from September 8, 1986 to June 19, 1987. Produced by Motown Productions in association with King World Productions, the show was filmed in New York City and featured a house band led by Billy Preston.

History

Background

In February 1986, at the annual National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE) conference, Nightlife was pitched as a late-night alternative to NBC talk shows The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and Late Night with David Letterman.[2] David Brenner was a frequent guest and regular fill-in host on Tonight, much like another comic, Joan Rivers, whose own talk show debuted a month after Nightlife. But whereas Rivers angered Carson by planning her show without consulting her mentor, Brenner spoke with Carson about his plans and received his blessing.[3][4] Brenner said "there's no animosity between me and them."[5] The syndicated Nightlife, produced by Motown Productions in association with King World Productions, premiered on September 8, 1986 on 102 stations, approximately one-third of which were ABC affiliates.[6][7]

Format

Nightlife was unique among late-night talk shows of the era in that it was a half-hour program, not a full hour. Brenner dressed more casually than other hosts, wearing sweaters instead of suit jackets.[6] The show often opened with a comedy sketch rather than a traditional monologue.[5] A notable exception came on October 17, 1986, when Brenner gave an extended monologue through two commercial breaks and until the closing credits. Reports indicated that none of the scheduled guests showed up, but Brenner's publicist claimed that the monologue was intentional.[8][9] The show's house band was Billy Preston and the Nightlife Band. Preston, who appeared in the billing – Nightlife starring David Brenner with Billy Preston[5] – was the first African-American music director for a national television talk show.[10] New York radio personality Dan Ingram was the show's announcer.[11]

Ratings and cancellation

In its first two months on air, Nightlife averaged a 2.4 rating. A November 1986 Broadcasting article said that the show had "gotten lost in the shuffle over the Carson and Rivers shows."[12] November ratings fell to a 1.9, and by January 1987, David Smith, associate director of programming at Katz Communications, said that Nightlife would probably not return for a second season.[13][14] King World and Motown Productions announced in April that they will complete the show's 195-episode commitment, though it was not officially cancelled for another two months.[4][15] The final original episode of Nightlife aired in June, with reruns continuing through August.[16]

Brenner told TV columnist Gary Deeb that when ratings "didn't go through the roof" in the first month, many stations then decided to move the show from the more desirable 11:00 p.m. – midnight time periods to the middle of the night. Brenner added that King World "started cutting our budget and started making us do a lotta pre-taped shows – and you could see the handwriting. I mean – it was more than handwriting – it was chiseling on the wall."[16] King World head executive Michael King said the talent pool of available guests was "somewhat of a problem. But we weren't up against Joan Rivers for the most part. We were up against the last half-hour of Carson or the first half-hour of David Letterman." Ultimately, King argued, "the public just didn't want to tune into David every night".[4] In a 2009 interview with The Trentonian, Brenner said that Motown and King World "ended up not liking to work with each other, and so they didn't care that the ratings were good, that the show was great and all that -- all they cared was to get away from each other. So you could say that I became the child of divorced parents".[17]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Unitel Inks 'Nightlife' Deal". Billboard. 98 (32). Nielsen Business Media, Inc.: 55 August 9, 1986. ISSN 0006-2510.
  2. ^ Wolf, Mark (February 6, 1986). "Here's what you might see syndicated on TV next fall". The Telegraph. Scripps Howard News Service. p. 22.
  3. ^ O'Connor, John J. (October 13, 1986). "TV Reviews: John Rivers's 'Late Show' Enters Talk-Show Fray". The New York Times. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  4. ^ a b c Ruth, Daniel (June 18, 1987). "Death of 'Nightlife': Brenner blasts ex-bosses for talk-show flop". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on November 17, 2018. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  5. ^ a b c Hill, Michael E. (August 29, 1986). "Brenner to host 'Nightlife'". The Bulletin. p. 39.
  6. ^ a b Winfrey, Lee (November 29, 1986). "And the late-night winner is...". Pittsburgh Press. p. B-5.
  7. ^ "Rivers,Brenner shows causing late-night headaches". Broadcasting. 111 (7): 57. August 18, 1986. ISSN 1068-6827.
  8. ^ Munson, Wayne (1993). All Talk: The Talkshow in Media Culture. Philadelphia, Pa.: Temple University Press. p. 66. ISBN 978-1566391948.
  9. ^ "Cut too, the Chase". U.S. News & World Report. 115: 174. 1993. ISSN 0041-5537.
  10. ^ Fearn-Banks, Kathleen (2009). The A to Z of African-American Television. Lanham: Scarecrow Press. p. 335. ISBN 978-0810868328.
  11. ^ Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company. p. 239. ISBN 978-0786464777.
  12. ^ "First-run sitcoms scoring well". Broadcasting. 111 (21): 45. November 24, 1986. ISSN 1068-6827.
  13. ^ "`Wheel' on Cassandra roll". Broadcasting. 112 (2): 66. January 12, 1987. ISSN 1068-6827.
  14. ^ "Reps review programing offerings". Broadcasting. 112 (4): 56. November 24, 1986. ISSN 1068-6827.
  15. ^ "No dream, Magnum bites bullet; 'Nightlife' lives two more months". The Ledger. April 14, 1987. p. 2A.
  16. ^ a b Deeb, Gary (June 21, 1987). "And the late-night winner is...". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. p. TV Week-2.
  17. ^ Hunt, Nicole (November 30, 2009). "Philly native and comic legend David Brenner coming to Jersey this week". The Trentonian. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
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