As of now a lot of late night shows are on hiatus and it’s a wonder just what’s going to happen to bring them back. The live audience factor will have to adapt, the hosts will have to adapt, and the crews will have to adapt. Well, as Devon Forward of Screenrant has pointed out, Conan O’Brien has figured out to do just that as he’ll be the first back on the scene during the social distancing that’s been put into effect and he’ll be hosting his show from an iPhone it sounds like as he continues to bring his brand of humor to the people, a lot of those who actually need it at this point. One thing about show business that a lot of people haven’t figured out yet in this current era is that it does adapt and it will go down avenues that are now available to it thanks to technology since to do otherwise is to admit defeat and say ‘the disease won’. Some people might not find that too funny or all that ‘woke’ in theory but to be fair, plunging your head into a pillow and crying over why life has to change and that there’s no end in sight isn’t a great alternative. It will be interesting to see if other late night hosts take the same idea from Conan to try and bolster their own ratings before being allowed back but at this point Conan is a little ahead of the curve since he’s getting a jump on a lot of his competitors.
The job of a talk show host doesn’t sound like something that would be on the cutting block unless there was absolutely no way to do the show without having a large group of people around. A live show these days can possibly take place using all remote methods if only because the technology is there and there’s no longer any need for people to be in the same room to really enjoy the show. With so many different ways to stream a show these day it’s harder to think of why various hosts didn’t jump on this particular idea sooner instead of worrying about having a live audience that they could play to. Some of the hosts unfortunately appear to need this since many, if not all of them, tend to get up and interact with the crowd from time to time. But when you look at things this way, meaning a live show can still take place without a live audience, it’s easier to wonder why not everyone has jumped on board. After all, simple solutions to what might appear to be complex problems are usually a balm at the very least even if they’re not a cure-all that can make everything better and assure people that life as they know it isn’t changing. The ability to adapt, evolve, and move with the current trends is after all something that show business is known for since throughout its long history the industry has been able to assess and overcome many a challenge that’s been presented. So why should now be any different? Reid Nakamura of The Wrap has more to say on this.
When one thinks about it, before the current era the COVID-19 virus would have forced America to grind to an absolute halt, far worse than we’re seeing now, since asking people to practice social distance would have meant that the miles and miles between individuals would have become a serious impediment. While there are still plenty of people that are out risking their health for the sake of their fellow human beings, which we thank them for immensely, the technology we have at the moment is still more than capable of allowing us to remain in touch with loved ones, friends, and can even allow us to continue working as much as possible. For those that work from home and remote locations it’s business as usual, but for those that are used to reporting to an office, or workplace, it’s a struggle since much of their work can’t be done online. Kelly Sheridan of DarkReading has something else to say about this matter. But for a talk show host, all that’s really needed is a mobile device and a willing audience, and with Conan O’Brien both parts of this equation are usually easy enough to be found. Again, whether other talk show hosts will lean into this idea or not is hard to say, but it would be wise if they don’t fancy losing at least a portion of their fan base to other venues or hosts that are willing to try some other way to get through to their viewers. If anything, Conan is embracing the idea that staying still isn’t living, and that neither is giving into the idea that there’s nothing to be done about being ordered to shut down for a week or two.
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