"The Graham Norton Show" -- The Top 25 Programs of 2017, No. 24

Norton whose show is seen on the BBC across the pond and here on BBC Americaamp160does not ignore political subject matter in fact heamp160does quite well with political guestsamp160 He recently conducted an extended oneonone interview with Hillary Clinton while she was on tour promoting her new book What Happened that served them both extremely wellamp160 Oneonone interviews are rare for Norton as that big red couch of his is usually filled with a tantalizing assortment of celebrities interacting with each other as well as their host so his handling of the interview was all the more impressive amp160In all of the interviews she has done I have never seen Clinton as relaxed and frankly open as she was on his show amp160Nortonamp160asked questions about the election and about Donald Trump from the perspective of someone who was genuinely interested rather than someone who was on the attack and trying to be the best Trump Dumper in the business amp160His tone was never more than conversational amp160Perhaps that was why Clinton was able to be so candid without losing her sense of humorThe closest we have here to someone of Nortonamp8217s frisky humor is Andy Cohen on Bravoamp8217s latefringe favorite Watch What Happens Live amp160But Norton knows how and when to be subtle never coming on too strong and in the process assuring that his show never gets oldamp160 Cohen not so muchamp160 Also Norton never really makes his show about him amp160It is always all about his guestsamp160 Cohen not so muchIn England Nortonamp8217s show is telecast only once per week and in primetime amp160so it really isnamp8217t fair of me to compare what he does to what our cavalcade of late night hosts are asked to do five nights a week amp160It should also be noted that the version we see here is edited for time so it moves right along amp160As I said my thoughts about having more of Norton on television are admittedly little more than a very nice dreamamp160 But the general intent of his show and of the talk shows here is largely the same so why can39t ours be more like hisamp160 One of them Late Late Show with James Corden actually went so far as to take an element of Nortonamp8217s showamp160and bring all of Cordenamp8217s guests out at once plunk them down on a couch and engage them in a group interviewamp160 Even so it just isnamp8217t the sameSurely one of the broadcast or cable networks here could locate a talented individual here who might be interested in hosting a onceweekly prime time interview program amp8211 preferably one with as much great good humor as Nortonamp8217samp160 HBO has had success in that area with Bill Maher though he pretty much plays to a particular audience while Norton is easier to take and has broader appeal amp160Maher like Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers leans too heavily toward talking at viewersamp160rather than with them amp160With viewers showing less and less interest in broadcast network sitcoms and dramas this might be something for one of them to considerI recall that Comedy Central brought Norton here in 2004 and tried a nightly halfhour show with him called The Graham Norton Effect amp160It lasted only three months amp160I donamp8217t recall ever watching that program so I canamp8217t comment except to point out that Nortonamp8217s humor isnamp8217t as in your face as that of the personalities that have succeeded on that networkamp160 But it doesnamp8217t matteramp160 That was then and this is now amp8230 and Norton has never been betterPreviously in the Top 25 of 2017The Mary Tyler Moore Show No 25Click on the social media tiles above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively those of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated bloggersamp160

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"The Graham Norton Show" -- The Top 25 Programs of 2017, No. 24

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Ed Martin

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"The Graham Norton Show" -- The Top 25 Programs of 2017, No. 24

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