What Working From Home Looks Like For Some Talk Show Hosts And Other TV Personalities
This is a time when people are being asked to stay home and socially distance themselves from others. However, for many television hosts and TV personalities, the show must go on. While many of these hosts are used to working with fancy equipment in comfortable studios, some decided to set up makeshift studios at home in order to limit their interactions with others. These top TV personalities still manage to take care of business with help from Zoom calls and equipment they either own or borrowed from the studio. Take a look at these TV hosts in the privacy of their own in-home studios!
Jimmy Fallon's Wife Taped His First "At Home" Episode
After The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon was suspended due to coronavirus, the host delivered his first "At Home" monologue. "What we're doing right now — I'm in a room in my house. My camera operator is my wife," he said.
Fallon continued to get personal, introducing his wife Nancy, his dog Gary, and his daughter Franny to the public before beginning his monologue. He then encouraged his viewers to donate to Feeding America and announced that he would be featuring a new charity for every episode.
The View Takes On A New Look
Created by Barbara Walters, The View has aired on ABC as part of its daytime programming block since its inception on August 11, 1997. Over the years, it has typically featured a panel of multi-generational women as they discuss the day's "Hot Topics," including entertainment, politics, and more.
As of May 2020, the series has been broadcasting remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, although that doesn't have seemed to slow the hosts down. Although they can no longer sit around their usual table and talk, they're still enjoying each other's company from home.
Stephen Colbert Got Bubbly In His Bathroom
Although Stephen Colbert's The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was suspended until further notice during the outbreak of coronavirus, that didn't slow the host down. At one point, Colbert even hosted a special edition of his program from the comfort of his own bathtub.
He commented, "Welcome to my bathroom. I am your host, Stephen Colbert. You're watching a very special social distancing edition of 'The Late Show,' or as I now call it, 'The Lather Show With Scrubbin' Colbath.'" Clearly, he enjoyed his time at home.
The Tamron Hall Show Hasn't Slowed Down Production
The Tamron Hall Show is a talk show hosted by journalist Tamron Hall. The show debuted on September 9, 2019, and was recently renewed for a third season.
Clearly, Hall hasn't been slowing down in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, even though she has to work from home in these times. She's still going strong without her classic studio setup and has been broadcasting live from her New York home in her regular Monday afternoon slot.
Savannah Guthrie From Today Took The Necessary Precautions
Things used to look a lot different at Studio 1A, and currently, Hoda Kotb is the only anchor of the Today show who is working from the NBC offices. Co-anchor Savannah Guthrie is continuing to co-anchor the daily broadcast from a virtual studio setup in the basement of her own home.
Supposedly, Guthrie made the decision to work from home in mid-March 2020, when she felt slightly ill and felt it was only right to follow CDC guidelines. Guthrie noted, "I wouldn't have thought anything of it, but we are in different times aren’t we?"
Al Roker Was Better Safe Than Sorry When It Came To 3rd Hour Today
Al Roker is a well-known weather forecaster, television personality, journalist, actor, and author. On top of being the weather anchor on NBC's Today, he is also the co-host on 3rd Hour Today and has also accomplished some impressive feats, such as setting a Guinness World Record by reporting for 34 hours.
For his outstanding work over the years, the Today plaza in New York was named the "Rokerfeller Plaza" in his honor. During troubling times such as these, he has opted to work from home to keep audiences happy and has been reporting the daily weather from his own kitchen.
Conan O'Brien Resorted To Zoom
During the outbreak of the coronavirus in the United States, Conan O'Brien didn't cancel his show. Instead, he opted to not have in-person interviews but allowed fans to submit photos to be featured in the crowd. He also interacted with guests via Zoom meetings with his nice quarantine hair.
Unbelievably, the makeshift set of his late-night talk at the Coronet nightclub in Los Angeles was robbed, with the thief taking numerous laptops and the device that helps integrate the picture and audio. O'Brien commented on the break-in, stating, "That's the lowest. I can't think of anything lower [...] Okay, the laptops — fine. [But] you took the slate? That's crazy."
Wendy Williams Was Reluctant At First
At the beginning of quarantine, host Wendy Williams of The Wendy Williams Show was initially hesitant about filming her show at home. She claims she wasn't interested in doing it after seeing other TV hosts working from their home, which she says is "disgusting."
However, after a few conversations with her production team, she eventually gave in and started working from home. Her radio background helped make the transition more bearable because, as she notes, it's strange to film the show without an audience.
Live With Kelly And Ryan Didn't Stop Production
Live with Kelly and Ryan, otherwise known as just Live, is a talk show hosted by Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest with a formula that has been in place on the air since 1983. On May 1, 2017, it was announced that Ryan Seacrest would become Ripa's permanent co-host, succeeding Michael Strahan.
Although Live has been to eight countries and almost 25 states, recently, the duo has been doing the program from the comfort of their own homes. They're still racking up big ratings with fans using this arrangement!
Trevor Noah Helped Make Everyone Feel Normal
Trevor Noah is a comedian, actor, writer, and political commentator who is best known as the host of The Daily Show, aired on Comedy Central.
Noah took his job home with him and is still as funny as ever delivering jokes from his apartment. He's definitely tried to stay positive during these times. He's also traded out his normal suit for comfortable hoodies at home, which fans have loved to comment about.
The Talk Took Advantage Of Instagram Live
On March 13, 2020, the CBS talk show, The Talk, announced that "it would be back live soon... We can still laugh and share moments. We're in this together. #thetalk."
Beginning on March 16, Carrie Ann Inaba began hosting on Instagram Live daily from her house, and she was joined by co-hosts Sharon Osbourne and Eve. Furthermore, the hosts would also ask for fans to tune into their other program, The Talk Chat Room, on Instagram where they feature popular celebrities to keep people entertained.
Only One Cast Member From Good Morning America Made The Decision To Stay Home
In the case of ABC's Good Morning America, not much changed, with the exception of Michael Strahan, Robin Roberts, Lara Spencer, and George Stephanopoulos beginning to social distance from one another.
However, fellow cast member Ginger Zee made the decision to stay home after two of the staff at her four-year-old son's school tested positive for COVID-19. Zee took to Twitter and posted, "We are all feeling great now, but I will #StayHomeFor everyone else and follow [CDC] guidelines."
Ellen DeGeneres Got A New Look
The Ellen DeGeneres Show has received 171 Daytime Emmy Award nominations since it debuted in 2003. On March 11, 2020, DeGeneres announced on Twitter that the show would be produced without a studio audience to protect the fans, staff, and crew from coronavirus.
The show was then suspended from shooting until March 30, 2020, from ensuring further health safety precautions. During this quarantine period, DeGeneres changed things up with her hair and now has a more slicked-back look than before, although it apparently took a few tries to get the coloring right.
Jimmy Kimmel Hunkered Down With His Family
During the early stages of the coronavirus outbreak, host Jimmy Kimmel made the decision to self-isolate along with his family, joking, "Thank god for television. My blood type right now is Disney positive."
Although he may be just as witty online, just like many of us, it's clear that Kimmel didn't have access to a barber and let his hair and beard go all-natural. He's joked about his time in isolation. "You learn a lot about yourself when you're isolated at home. For instance, I learned that I have two young children."
Becky Quick Of Squawk Box Handles Everything Herself
Best known as the co-anchor of Squawk Box on CNBC, Becky Quick made sure to do her part and took advantage of her spare bedroom in New Jersey to make sure that the show goes on.
Becky said, "I do my own hair and makeup; I'm my own lighting person, so I set up the lights, and I’m my own IT director, so I set up the computers and call in." Unsurprisingly, this is as hard as it sounds. She has to ask her family to not use the WiFi until her show is over at 9 AM and places towels under the door to keep her room quiet during the three-hour program.
Andy Cohen Went Into Full Lockdown
When attempting to film Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen at the host's house, executive producer Deirdre Connolly noted that this was the first time they have ever tried to do something like this. However, the plan changed when Andy Cohen tested positive for coronavirus.
This didn't stop him, and he resumed with the show using his computer camera, a separate microphone, and an iPad teleprompter. At the time, nobody from the show was allowed in or out of the house due to the virus. It also appears that he has a very young new co-host!
The Voice Hosted A Remote Episode
In order to keep the judges, competitors, and audiences safe during the pandemic, beginning on May 4, the top 17 artists and four judges, Kelly Clarkson, Nick Jonas, Blake Shelton, and John Legend, all began broadcasting from their homes.
Host Carson Daly continued to present the live rounds from a sound stage without an audience, although still in front of the iconic red chairs. The interactions between coaches, artists, and Daly continued to be recorded live, although the artists' performances were pre-taped.
The Kardashians Have Had To Adjust As Well
Although the midseason finale had already aired, the stars of Keeping Up With The Kardashians began using Zoom to film virtual dinners, which will be used for episodes in fall of 2020. Although episodes are usually shot by professionals using F55 and Fs5 cameras, the Kardashians have begun "self-shooting" using their iPhones and other technology.
According to executive producer Farnaz Farjam, "They're executive producers themselves, so we lean on them as well [...] I'm always like, we’re so lucky that our cast really understands lighting, really cares about angles."
Tony Dokoupil And Katy Tur Share A Work Space
Tony Dokoupil from CBS This Morning began co-anchoring his show from his basement early on. However, he's not the only person in the house to have a studio in the basement. Just across the room is his wife, Katy Tur, who has her own MSNBC show studio in the shared space that they call the Basement Broadcast Center.
Tur notes, "I have the left side of the room and Tony has the right side of the room, and both have TelePrompters and lighting and the things necessary to go from, honestly the last place I thought I would ever go live from: the basement of my home."
Dr. Oz Is Shooting From The Comfort Of His Home
The Dr. Oz Show is a daytime television talk show covering subjects regarding health and wellness, medical information, and at times, crime and celebrity interviews. The program is co-produced by Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions and is hosted by Mehmet Oz. Although the show has received some criticism, it has also received nine Daytime Emmy Awards.
Even though Dr. Oz might have had everything in order back at the studio, today, he is running the program from home. Working on his laptop with nothing but a stool to sit on, it's clear that he's downgraded in the wake of the coronavirus.
