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For other uses, see Talk show (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with Tabloid talk show.
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A talk show or chat show (as it is known in the UK) is a television programming or radio
programming genre in which one person (or group of people) discusses various topics put forth by
a talk show host.[1]
Usually, guests consist of a group of people who are learned or who have great experience in
relation to whatever issue is being discussed on the show for that episode. Other times, a single
guest discusses their work or area of expertise with a host or co-hosts. A call-in show takes live
phone calls from callers listening at home, in their cars, etc. Sometimes, guests are already seated
but are often introduced and enter from backstage. Gay Byrne, Steve Allen, Jack Paar, Johnny
Carson,[2] Dick Cavett, Ed Sullivan, Oprah Winfrey, Ellen Degeneres, Howard Stern, Rush Limbaugh,
and Mosunmola Abudu have hosted notable talk shows; in many cases, the shows have made their
hosts famous.
Contents
[hide]

1 Subgenres

2 History

3 Talk shows in other countries

4 Talk show subgenres

5 See also

6 References

7 Further reading

Subgenres[edit]
There are several major formats of talk shows. Generally, each subgenre predominates during a
specific programming block during the broadcast day.

Breakfast chat or early morning shows that generally alternate between news summaries,
political coverage, feature stories, celebrity interviews, and musical performances.

Late morning chat shows that feature two or more hosts or a celebrity panel, and focus on
entertainment and lifestyle features.

Daytime talk shows, generally featuring a host, a guest or a panel of guests, and a live
audience that interacts extensively with the host and guests. These shows may feature
celebrities, political commentators, or "ordinary" people who present unusual or controversial
topics.

"Lifestyle" or self-help programs, which generally feature a host or hosts who are medical
practitioners, therapists, or counselors, and guests who seek intervention, describe medical or
psychological problems, or offer advice.

Late-night talk shows that feature celebrity guests who talk about their work and personal
lives as well as the their latest films, TV shows, music recordings or other projects they'd like to
promote to the public. The hosts are often comedians who open the shows with comedy
monologues.

"Sunday talk" or political discussion shows are a staple of network programming in North
America. These shows feature elected political figures and candidates for office, commentators,
and journalists.

These formats are not absolute. Syndicated "daytime" shows may appear overnight in some
markets, and some afternoon programs have similar structures to late night talk shows.
These formats may vary across different countries or markets. Late night talk shows are especially
significant in the United States. Breakfast telly is a staple of British television. The daytime talk
format has become popular in Latin America as well as the United States.
Talk-radio host Howard Stern also hosted a talk show that was syndicated nationally in the USA,
then moved to satellite radio's Sirius. The tabloid talk show genre, pioneered by Phil Donahue[3] but
popularized byOprah Winfrey[4] was extremely popular during the last two decades of the 20th
century.[5]
Politics are hardly the only subject of American talk shows, however. Other radio talk show subjects
include Car Talk hosted by NPR and Coast to Coast AM hosted by Art Bell and George Noory which
discusses topics of the paranormal, conspiracy theories, fringe science and the just plain weird.
Sports talk shows are also very popular ranging from high-budget shows like The Best Damn Sports
Show Period to Max Kellerman's original public-access television cable TV show Max on Boxing.