What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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BY KENNETH ANDEEL TV Media W ith 2019 looming on the horizon, it's time for ret- rospectives about 2018's year in television to start pouring in. One cor- ner of the TV world that is al- ways worth a look is the realm of late-night talk, that dis- tinctly North American for- mat that shot to popularity — and eventual universality — during the second half of the 20th century. Beginning with shows like NBC's "The To- night Show" (launched in 1954), the late-night formula spread from network to net- work, evolving across many iterations and becoming a necessary staple for every ma- jor programming provider. Cable networks stepped up their late-night game in 2018. During the summer, Samantha Bee ("Full Frontal with Sa- mantha Bee") made headlines battling with the Trump ad- ministration over its contro- versial immigration policies, and the new show saw a mod- est rise in ratings for her trou- ble. In October, E! launched "Busy Tonight," a new take on the traditional talk show host- ed by actress and social media sensation Busy Philipps ("Dawson's Creek"). Early re- ception to her show has been mixed, but Philipps came out of the gate with the blessing of other hosts, cutting a promo for "Busy Tonight" that fea- tured late-night staples such as Stephen Colbert, Conan O'Brien, Seth Meyers, Andy Cohen and others. Speaking of late-night sta- ples, O'Brien is changing the formula of his show in an ef- fort to accommodate young viewers who are routinely cutting cords and looking for more streamlined content. Earlier this year, O'Brien an- nounced that his TBS show "Conan" will be condensed down to a half-hour format and will spurn some of the formal trappings associated with late-night TV. O'Brien's goal is to trim the fat endemic to the late-night tradition in order to offer lean, incisive episodes instead of longer ones padded with filler. His plan involves down- sizing to one guest per night and editing the show's best material into a half-hour daily episode, while offering addi- tional daily material online for people interested in seek- ing it out. "Conan" has gener- ally boasted the youngest av- erage audience of the major late-night shows, so it makes absolute sense for him to make changes that will keep CR O SS W O R D S S UDO KU W O R D SE A RC H T V & M O V I ES A/Filler 5 x 3 See you later The perfect stocking stuffer for every kid on your list! Offi fi fi cial Kids Mag is specially designed for kids in kindergarten through the sixth grade. The glossy magazine is full of local kid hero profi les, features, events, recipes, games, puzzles, coloring, activity pages, and educational stories written just for kids. Call 479-684-5502 or go to Offi cialKidsMag.com Only $ 48 FOR ONE WHOLE YEAR! Includes 12 issues plus the 2019 Christmas and Holiday Gift Guide!