'After Midnight' Finally Premiering--POINTS!

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Mark Jeffries

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Jan 4, 2024, 5:13:10 PMJan 4
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The CBS reboot of "@midnight" hosted by Taylor Tomlinson finally debuts on Jan. 16 (or technically Jan. 17) after Colbert at 12:37 a.m. ET--We assume either the affiliates will take over at 1:07 a.m. or the Eye will keep repeating "Comics Unleashed" at that time:

Ben Scripps

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Jan 4, 2024, 9:22:35 PMJan 4
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Nope--"@fter" is a full hour.

On Jan 4, 2024, at 5:13 PM, Mark Jeffries <spotl...@gmail.com> wrote:

The CBS reboot of "@midnight" hosted by Taylor Tomlinson finally debuts on Jan. 16 (or technically Jan. 17) after Colbert at 12:37 a.m. ET--We assume either the affiliates will take over at 1:07 a.m. or the Eye will keep repeating "Comics Unleashed" at that time:


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Doug Eastick

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Jan 4, 2024, 10:38:36 PMJan 4
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I'm still waiting for my TiVo listings to go out to the 16th.    I set a One pass for Taylor Tomlinson in the meantime.




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Jon Delfin

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Jan 4, 2024, 10:50:56 PMJan 4
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my DVR's guide does reach that far forward, but the show isn't listed yet

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John Edwards

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Jan 5, 2024, 12:20:31 AMJan 5
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Mine reaches that far as well, and is showing After Midnight as an hour-long show. 

John 

Sent from my iPhone

On Jan 4, 2024, at 10:50 PM, Jon Delfin <jond...@gmail.com> wrote:



Dave Sikula

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Jan 12, 2024, 7:18:11 PMJan 12
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Just watched "comedy superstar" Tomlinson's appearance with Colbert last week, and my initial impression is that she's unfunny and bland enough that she won't distract from the guests. 

I had expected gameplay similar to the original version ("Points!"), but the examples she provided Colbert indicate that Tuesday will be a one-off for me. The bar for success is low here, but it looked like it'll be awful (though still better than Byron Allen).

--Dave Sikula

Doug Eastick

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Jan 12, 2024, 7:38:38 PMJan 12
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I just watched her interview too.  Meh.
I have low expectations for anything after 1130pm.

I have set a TiVo Season Pass.



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Jeff Metzner

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Jan 13, 2024, 4:53:41 PMJan 13
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I was surprised they didn't have a clip of the show on Colbert. I know they probably won't film the premiere until the day of or the day before, but surely they must have made some test shows?

Anyway, I also set a Season Pass. I wonder what percentage of current TiVo owners are in this thread?

David Bruggeman

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Jan 13, 2024, 8:36:32 PMJan 13
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They don't even have a clip of the show on its Paramount + or Facebook pages.

I have my expectations set about as low as they were for the Hardwick edition, so I'll probably like it.  My only concern is whether it can really fill an hour.  The show seemed to work best with a high joke volume, and that takes a lot of work.

Best,
David

Dave Sikula

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Jan 13, 2024, 9:52:25 PMJan 13
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If the sample game Colbert played is any indication, there will be no jokes, so the work will be that much harder.

--Dave Sikula

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David Risner

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Jan 14, 2024, 4:31:32 PMJan 14
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She’s one of my favorite comics. I think that it’ll come down to how good the writers are and how much the studio/producers/directors try to make her bland to try to attract the widest audience vs letting her be herself to attract a good core audience. 

-- David

On Jan 13, 2024, at 6:52 PM, Dave Sikula <daves...@gmail.com> wrote:


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Steve Timko

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Jan 17, 2024, 8:04:36 AMJan 17
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I couldn't watch it..The forced laughter was horrible. And I liked all three panelists.

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Jon Delfin

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Jan 17, 2024, 9:57:45 AMJan 17
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I got a lot of reading done during the show.
Not even Paul F. Tompkins will get me to watch ep #2.

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Kevin M.

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Jan 17, 2024, 10:46:08 AMJan 17
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First episode free on YouTube


She’s a better host than the alleged sexual predator who was “cleared” of wrongdoing by his own lawyer. 

The show is just not geared to me. If you watch any British panel TV show, or listen to any British panel radio show, it’s agonizing to endure the American equivalent. In the UK the panelists are just there amusing themselves, and if the audience happens to laugh, fine. In the US, panelists just so desperately want to be loved, like every answer to a question should be followed up with a wink to the audience and the words “am I right?!” screamed at full volume. 

Kevin M. (RPCV)


Adam Bowie

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Jan 17, 2024, 11:39:42 AMJan 17
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I've watched a few minutes of this, but I'm not sure I can stomach the entire thing. What I would point out about the various British comedy panel shows - and we have a lot of them - is that there are a few things in making them good:

- They're mostly 30 mins, and not 60 mins. They record for much longer, and then get ruthlessly edited down to a tight 30 minute show. An episode of Have I Got News For You or QI might record for getting on for two hours. And unlike sitcom recordings, they're not repeating scenes with new dialogue lines. Yes - shorn of ads on YouTube, it's 39 minutes, but I'd still be looking for a 26 minute version of this with just the best material.

- These shows usually only record one a week. That's because they' re not super-easy to do.  

- The ideal structure doesn't rely too much on obvious point-scoring meaning that you can edit around unfunny bits without viewers questioning how one team's score jumped from x to y for no reason. When I watched some previous episodes of After Midnight before, I couldn't work out why there was such an importance placed on point-scoring. It's not Jeopardy. Nobody really cares! If it's a straight gameshow then of course you want to see a contestant win some money/kudos/whatever. And with sports you have an affiliation with one team over another. But honestly, nobody really cares about the points in a panel show. The only exception to this is if there's a running joke about one side always losing.

I'm not totally sure why this exists in this spot in the schedule. There's no obvious virality to it, and you've got to hope that it's being made for YouTube views as much as linear viewing. Having things in the news to bounce off is good, although obviously limits repeatability, but I think doing multiple editions per week is going to wear quickly.


Adam

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Bob Jersey

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Jan 17, 2024, 11:51:38 AMJan 17
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Colbert has put segments on Youtube, tho I don't think he started till the show had been around a few years... B

Adam Bowie, to Kevin M et al, in partJan 17th:

Tom Wolper

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Jan 17, 2024, 2:46:36 PMJan 17
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As always with new shows it’s going to take time for them to find their rhythm and their sweet spots. That said, I don’t know how much better it can be. It would certainly be better as a half hour show and they have to find panel members who thrive in that format. The show looked to me like a social media version of America’s Funniest Videos. That show can go on forever because it’s so cheap to make but its writers get burned out by all the repetition.

I’ll check in on it again in 3 months to see if they’ve found their footing.

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David Bruggeman

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Jan 17, 2024, 5:52:08 PMJan 17
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Based on the first episode, it certainly doesn't need to be an hour.  I'm guessing CBS has to fill the hour or give back the other 30 minutes to the affiliates....


PGage

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Jan 17, 2024, 6:01:52 PMJan 17
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I only mildly enjoyed the original. I didn’t find it as instantly hateable as most here, but did find it mildly repulsive. As Tom says, some fraction of the badness is they are still working it out. Tomlinson, who I find pretty likable outside of this, comes across as stiff and her voice is grating. I think there is a chance she finds her register and stride and reaches the mildly enjoyable level. As all have said, there is no chance of that if they keep it as long as this. Also, I think Tomlinson needs to develop a little more of an edge with the panelists so she can tease them a little for clunker jokes. Last thought: give her a screen in her eye line so she is not constantly looking over her shoulder and away from the camera/viewer.

If the show gets better someone please post an advisory here. I doubt I will go out of my way to watch it again without some encouragement.

Sent from Gmail Mobile


John Edwards

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Jan 17, 2024, 8:02:48 PMJan 17
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I liked Tomlinson as a host, and I think she’ll find a rhythm as the show goes on. 

I think it could be a great half-hour show. Unfortunately it’s an hour. 

It is better than 10-year-old Byron Allen repeats, so it has that going for it, which is nice. 

John 

— 
John Edwards
"You can insure against the weather, but you can't insure against incompetence, can you?" - Phil Tufnell


Dave Sikula

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Jan 17, 2024, 9:56:43 PMJan 17
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I don't have a full sense of it yet because I ended up dozing through most of it, but the thing that mainly struck me was that, if Tomlinson is indeed a "comedy superstar," it just shows me how debased both the word "superstar" has become and how my general distaste for standup is justified. My goodness; could there be more of a non-entity at the lectern here? Hardwick, whom I generally like (sorry, Kevin!) at least had energy and personality beyond "the prize is my father's approval" (how many times did she use that joke? At least three that I heard in my semi-conscious state). 

A show like this needs someone with a potential edge. Tomlinson has all the edge of a bowling ball. I'm not surprised that Colbert's people have sanded off any possible snags. Despite his distaste for TFG, Colbert feels like a guy who wants to make nice with everyone.

As bland as it is right now, I'd take it over any of the British game shows. I find those to be too smug, smarmy, self-congratulatory, and "aren't we clever?" for my tastes. (The recent furor over importing Jeopardy was ludicrous to me. Imagine being threatened by Jeopardy or saying "it's too hard to understand the rules.")

Any future viewings of @M will be strictly dependent on the panelists.

And 60 minutes is way too long. If they have to fill an hour, do two 30s.

--Dave Sikula

On Wednesday, January 17, 2024 at 08:39:43 AM PST, Adam Bowie <ad...@adambowie.co.uk> wrote:


I've watched a few minutes of this, but I'm not sure I can stomach the entire thing. What I would point out about the various British comedy panel shows - and we have a lot of them - is that there are a few things in making them good:

.

Dave Sikula

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Jan 19, 2024, 12:15:50 AMJan 19
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I watched the second episode (mainly because of Tompkins) and got to notice three things. One is that it didn't get much better; it really runs out of gas after about thirty minutes. Two is that I just don't find Tomlinson funny or host material. The third -- and most irritating -- is that everyone (especially the host) spends the episode shouting. It becomes very unpleasant.

Like I said, I might tune in again, but it'll be strictly depending on the guests.

--Dave Sikula

Tom Wolper

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Jan 20, 2024, 3:06:18 PMJan 20
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The charm of the past and current generation of late night hosts is their acknowledgment of when a joke or bit doesn’t work. Dave was a master of it, bringing the audience into his own discomfort. Seth gleefully throws a writer under the bus when a monologue joke falls flat. My big problem with After Midnight is every joke gets a huge laugh and earns points whether or not it’s actually funny.

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Adam Bowie

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Jan 20, 2024, 4:00:17 PMJan 20
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On Sat, Jan 20, 2024 at 8:06 PM Tom Wolper <two...@gmail.com> wrote:
The charm of the past and current generation of late night hosts is their acknowledgment of when a joke or bit doesn’t work. Dave was a master of it, bringing the audience into his own discomfort. Seth gleefully throws a writer under the bus when a monologue joke falls flat. My big problem with After Midnight is every joke gets a huge laugh and earns points whether or not it’s actually funny.


I think that's why you have to edit ruthlessly on this type of show. I don't think it's a problem that in the final show, most jokes do, rather than don't work. But you should lose a good 50% of what you record. And I'm just not sure you can do that successfully if you're recording only a few hours before broadcast. Of course, if you're smart, you can lean into things that don't work. Reference the fact that nobody in the audience gets it.

Kevin M.

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Jan 25, 2024, 9:56:24 AMJan 25
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The ratings are… unremarkable 



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Tom Wolper

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Jan 25, 2024, 10:11:21 AMJan 25
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The follow up question is not, “why isn’t this show doing better?” It’s “what could CBS possibly put on in this time slot that would do better?”

Kevin M.

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Jan 25, 2024, 10:15:27 AMJan 25
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They could bring back “Crimetime After Prinetime”!

I’ve told the story before of when “Later with…” stopped production at NBC. Initially they played reruns of the series. Then, as an experiment, they put in decades-old reruns of SCTV, only to discover they did as good and often better than new episodes of Later. 

Kevin M. (RPCV)


Adam Bowie

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Jan 25, 2024, 10:23:49 AMJan 25
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On Thu, Jan 25, 2024 at 3:11 PM Tom Wolper <two...@gmail.com> wrote:
The follow up question is not, “why isn’t this show doing better?” It’s “what could CBS possibly put on in this time slot that would do better?”

They could probably just schedule reruns of "NCIS: Anywhere-on-the-planet", and they'd probably improve the audience. But I guess that doesn't reach *new* audiences. 

Mark Jeffries

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Jan 25, 2024, 10:54:17 AMJan 25
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Or they could give it back to the affiliates, which would mean either infomercials or late news repeats (only 1:35 after the first run) or reruns of "Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen."

Mark Jeffries
spotl...@gmail.com


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Doug Eastick

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Jan 25, 2024, 12:50:43 PMJan 25
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i have yet to watch an episode on my TiVo, however I have watched 1-2 clips on youtube.



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PGage

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Jan 25, 2024, 12:51:44 PMJan 25
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Her ratings are about 66% of Cordon’s in his last year (maybe around 75% when DVR is included. She makes 50% of Cordon’s $6 Million salary, so maybe CBS is doing better on net cost. I am surprised they are paying her that much though, which makes me think they are expecting her to do better in three months, and that she would become a hotter property down the road and be cheap at $3 Million.

Sent from Gmail Mobile


Tom Wolper

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Jan 25, 2024, 2:16:31 PMJan 25
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Her panels are made up of club comics and podcasters. CBS could be hoping that one or several of her panel members breaks big and keeps coming back to do the show.

Diner

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Jan 25, 2024, 2:16:47 PMJan 25
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I've watched three episodes so far: episode 1 (because it was the premiere), episode 2 (for Paul F. Tompkins), and episode 4 (for Milana Vayntrub).

And it was a real ordeal. I got tired of the hyped-up energy about 15 minutes into the premiere, and I'm not sure how I made it through 3 episodes. Tompkins and Vayntrub, as much as I like them, didn't do themselves or the show any favors.

Tomlinson wasn't horrible, and I'm sure she'll get better. But she mostly made me think "What would Hollywood Squares have been like if Peter Marshall did a big fake laugh for every single joke?" She's likable, but she's working really, really hard to be likable, and the effort is obvious.

There were two moments on episode 4 that stood out for me. One was a joke Tomlinson made along the lines of "We're only here because CBS wants young eyeballs." Which is true, of course, and reminded me that maybe the reason I'm not crazy about this show is that this show isn't made for me.

The other was the best moment on the episode: when comic Kelsey Cook told a story about how she and Tomlinson once attended a male strip show together and Tomlinson got freaked out. And she was clearly uncomfortable hearing the story again. It was the best part of the show, but it had nothing to do with the game - it was basically a talk show story that would have worked equally well on any of the other late night network shows. It was the one moment when Tomlinson's true personality broke through. I hope there are more moments like this.

As Dave said, if I watch again, it'll be because of the guests. And as Tom said, I'll check back in a few months to see how it evolves.

Dave Sikula

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Jan 25, 2024, 8:33:43 PMJan 25
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The answer is, of course, that it costs (relative) peanuts to produce, gives the network another hour of ad revenue (even if those ads are for snake oil), and does well enough in the ratings.

Quality (or lack thereof) is irrelevant; in that regard, it's not much different from the prime-time lineup, with its cookie-cutter procedurals.

--Dave Sikula

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Dave Sikula

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Jan 25, 2024, 8:38:39 PMJan 25
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I've watched three shows: the premiere and the episodes with Tompkins and Vayntrub. I've tuned in late for a couple of others and couldn't stand it or stay withit (the Doug Benson one was particularly disturbing, since I think his constant weed intake may have affected his mental facilities; he seemed almost Randy Quaid levels of addled).

Directing this show must be a breeze: show the screen, show the panelist, show Tomlinson shouting at camera. Rinse and repeat.

--Dave Sikula

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Bob Jersey

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Jan 25, 2024, 10:15:11 PMJan 25
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Eventually, at least in the US, ION (the current iteration of PAX, remember?) will bitch about that...    B

Adam Bowie, to Tom Wolper, Jan 25th:

M-D November

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Jan 26, 2024, 1:52:30 PMJan 26
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I've watched the first two episodes, and honestly, as a fan of the original @midnight, I thought they were pretty solid.  I do miss Chris Hardwick's command of the game (Tomlinson will get there in time, but it's also possible she's not forced to run the show like it's on speed because they have 60 minutes instead of 30), and I don't know if Tomlinson having control of the scoring is a great idea, but these are things that get figured out.  I do wish they'd picked a stronger lineup of panelists for the first few shows.

David Bruggeman

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Jan 26, 2024, 2:32:47 PMJan 26
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I've watched through Tuesday's episode.  I think the more recent episodes are less chaotic and better paced than the first couple.  But it is still rough, and can drag.

I attended the taping of the 4th episode of the original @midnight, and for a first week of a show, I thought it was tightly run.  Hardwick came into the show with hosting experience (for whatever you might think of Singled Out as a show, it likely improved Hardwick's hosting skills, and had an element of chaos to manage).  Hardwick was also not the first host for @midnight, it had been developed with a different title and with EP Thomas Lennon ("Reno 911" and other things) hosting.

There appears to be few people behind the scenes of after midnight with experience from @midnight.  Between that and the strikes hampering production, it wouldn't surprise me if there weren't many (or any) test shows or other efforts to refine this show before broadcast.

Best,
David

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