HBO will announce that starting in next week’s episode of Real Sports, new episodes for the remainder of the 20th season will feature comedy segments at the end of each show from various HBO personalities or comedians HBO has relationships with. Bill Maher will bat leadoff with “New Rules for Real Sports” with upcoming installments to feature Lewis Black, Chris Rock, and Susie Essman (Larry David’s shrill nemesis on Curb Your Enthusiasm).
This change comes on the heels of Real Sports retiring (for now) the staple of Bryant Gumbel’s closing monologue and is part of a new direction for the show which included a lot of small and subtle changes that ultimately was partially aimed at attracting a younger and larger audience. I’ve been a fan of the show’s new direction and interviewed Senior Producer, Joe Perskie, about these changes a few months back which included a new set, new theme music, and shift in mix of stories featured on the show.
With the retiring of the closing monologues and the introduction of the comedy segments, I wanted to follow up on my initial interview with Joe given Real Sports seems to be doubling down to some degree in adapting to a younger audience and the current day media climate. Below some highlights from our conversation.
What Was The Motivation Behind Nixing The Closing Monologue?
I was very curious on what prompted this move. Was it negative feedback or potentially that they were overshadowing the features? Perhaps it was too taxing on Gumbel to continuously roll these out year round. Ultimately though it seems the answer was rooted more in the fact that today’s media climate is much quicker paced and lot more crowded than ever before.
“I think that in the current media climate it’s never easy to cut through and say something truly original which is the standard that Bryant holds himself to.”
Will The Monologues Ever Return?
We touched on this subject a couple of times and there has been some feedback that viewers would like to see them return. With that said, it will probably be a wait and see in terms of if and when that should occur.
“I think he is interested in bringing them back but if that happens it will be on his timetable.”
“The commentary is a staple part of the show and always was and if I had to bet a dollar, I’d bet it will be again.”
What Was The Genesis Behind Adopting The Comedy Segments?
For now this is just an experiment for 2015, the 20th season of Real Sports, but similar to last year’s changes it seems this is tied to adapting and evolving to the times of today’s media climate.
“The blend of humor and journalism is a hot thing right now. You can see it right now on HBO with John Oliver really doing as well as anybody and Bill Maher who does is as well as anybody and we wanted to tap into that.”
Was The Shift To Comedy Segments Motivated To Reach A Younger And Broader Audience?
Gumbel’s closing monologues often left a very serious or at time controversial aftertaste. Was this an effort to soften the show in terms of tone which might be more palpable to a younger audience and perhaps have more traction digitally and socially?
“I don’t know if we said “hey young people don’t want such a serious note at the end of the show”, but it was more about an idea whose time had come in terms of humor and journalism and that has roots as far back as Andy Rooney.”
“We’re aware it can catch on with younger people and we’re aware it can catch on online. We know it’s a different tone. It’s a different vibe and it can be complimentary to the hard hitting meat and potatoes tone of our show.”
Did John Oliver’s Success On HBO Play A Role In The Shift To Adding Some Light Hearted Commentary On Serious Issues?
“It’s an idea that’s been percolating in our minds for a long time. All that said, I think John Oliver coming here put it on HBO. We started to see John Oliver having a lot of success putting extended clips out digitally and having them catch on virally and really creating buzz about his show. I’m sure to some degree in the building, that warmed people to the idea that you could put humorous things out there that can also be serious and insightful and eye opening and get that water-cooler conversation going.”
Will These Segments Be Left In The Hands Of The Comedic Talent Or Will There Be Some Level Of Collaboration And Oversight From Real Sports?
“Obviously they know that we want them to both be funny, which is a given for all of these people, as well as insightful and poignant and to have an opinion on something of relevance. Within that framework we’re really looking forward to giving these different talents latitude to be themselves.”
What Will These Segments Look Like?
I was curious here – Would the guest talent come onto the Real Sports set? Would there be graphics or animations? Ultimately it sounds like the creative latitude mentioned above will include the setting and visual presentation of these segments.
“We’re going to let these talents be these talents. Maher, he’s going to be at his desk on his set doing New Rules. Chris Rock is on board and has talked about possibly getting out in the field and doing something and he’s obviously reported before as he did an entire documentary. John Oliver and Bryant have been talking and I could see him doing something his at his desk. His show also has edited pieces with voiceover, footage, and graphics. It’s really going to depend on the topic and whether it’s better to put talent out in the field at an interesting place with an interesting person or whether it’s at a desk or whether it’s on a stage at a comedy club. It can really be all of the above.”
My Takeaway And Wish List
This was an surprising announcement and I’ll have to hold judgement until seeing a couple of these segments. That said the prospect of comedic segments on sports from Chris Rock, Larry David, Danny McBride, and John Oliver is pretty damn exciting. The most important thing I took away from this conversation with Joe and my previous is that Real Sports is much more nimble than many legacy news brands and ultimately I think that’s a very positive and encouraging sign given we’re living an era where many once prestigious and popular media brands have had their influence erode or worse, had to be retired. With a lot of the changes implemented the last year, it’s good to see a show as good as Real Sports bucking that trend.
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