Aftershow

An aftershow or after-show is a genre of television talk show whose topic is another television program. An aftershow is typically broadcast immediately after a new episode of its corresponding program, to help retain the audience, and to provide additional discussion and content related to the program (such as analysis and behind-the-scenes material). Aftershows may also include guest appearances by a show's staff or cast, and emphasize viewer contributions. A similar, earlier concept in sports broadcasting is the post-game show.

Format

An aftershow's typical format, pioneered by Howard Stern's The Wrap-Up Show on Sirius Satellite Radio in 2006, is two or more people discussing a just-aired episode. This is sometimes accompanied by bonus material from the series, or special guests such as actors or creative staff.^[1] TV channels see aftershows as a cheap way to provide more content for avid fans of popular series, as a venue for interacting with fans directly, and to help provide additional context and analysis to the series' narrative and themes.^[2] Aftershows can also help a channel retain viewers after an episode airs.^[1]

Some aftershows—particularly those involving reality series—focus more on behind the scenes material, as well as interviews with eliminated and former contestants. Some of these examples, including American Idol Extra,^[3] Britain's Got More Talent,^[4] Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two,^[5] and The Xtra Factor,^[6] primarily aired on a sister channel to the network that carried the main program (such as BBC Two, ITV2, and the Fox Reality Channel). For its former coverage of the Indian Premier League in cricket, Sony Pictures Networks aired Extraaa Innings T20—which combined the aftershow concept with elements of a traditional sports post-game show by featuring both match analysis and entertainment segments such as celebrity interviews.^[7][8] The Channel 4 talk show The Last Leg with Adam Hills was originally conceived as an aftershow for its coverage of the 2012 Summer Paralympics,^[9][10] but proved successful enough to be renewed as a standalone series.^[11]

History

MTV Canada's The After Show was cited by the Toronto Star as an early predecessor to the aftershow format adopted in North America.^[2] The show was produced to accompany its airings of MTV's Laguna Beach, due to CRTC licensing requirements regarding the provision of Canadian content and talk show programming (the latter stemming from the service's early history in a previous format, TalkTV).^[12] The show gained a steady following: MTV Canada began producing the show in front of a studio audience for the Laguna Beach finale, resulting in "thousands" of fans lining up outside of the channel's Toronto studio for a chance to attend. The format was extended to its sister series The Hills, and was later picked up to air on the U.S. MTV channel as well.^[2]

In 2009, Bravo premiered Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, a late-night talk show which primarily discusses Bravo's reality programming, and features viewer contributions such as questions. It also discusses other facets and headlines in popular culture, and expanded from a weekly to weeknight scheduling in 2011.^[13][14]

Following the example of Talking Dead, U.S. entertainment channels began to add aftershows to their most popular scripted series in the 2010s. Embassy Row—the Sony Pictures Television-owned studio who produces Talking Dead, would be commissioned by other networks for their some of their own aftershows, such as Shark After Dark Live (which it produced for Discovery's Shark Week event).^[15] In 2012, Maria Menounos launched AfterBuzz TV, a network of post-show podcasts devoted to various television series.^[16]

Notable aftershows

Title	Program(s) discussed	First aired	Last aired	Channel	Notes	Ref.
The After Show	Various reality series		2010	MTV
Doctor Who Confidential	Doctor Who	2005	2011	BBC Three
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen	Various reality series	2009	present	Bravo
RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked	RuPaul's Drag Race	2010	present	Logo TV (2010–2014)	Began with season 2
				YouTube (2015–2017)
				VH1 (2018–present)
Thronecast	Game of Thrones	2011	2019	Sky Atlantic
Talking Dead	The Walking Dead Fear the Walking Dead	2011	present	AMC	Began with season 2 for both series	[17]
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Declassified	Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.	2013	2014	ABC.com	Only the first season.	[18]
Talking Bad	Breaking Bad	2013	2013	AMC	Only for final eight episodes of the series	[19]
Wolf Watch	Teen Wolf	2013	2015	MTV	Only from the second half of Season 3 to some episodes in the first half of Season 5.
Anarchy Afterword	Sons of Anarchy	2013	2014	FX	Online web series; for seasons 6 and 7	[20]
Rebels Recon	Star Wars Rebels	2014	2018	Disney XD	Online web series for entire show
After the Black	Orphan Black	2015	2017	Space / BBC America	Began with season 3	[21][22]
Talking Saul	Better Call Saul	2016	2022	AMC	Only for season 2-3 (for premiere and finale episodes only) and season 6 (two episodes)	[23]
After the Thrones	Game of Thrones	2016	2016	HBO	For season 6 only	[24]
Talking Preacher	Preacher	2016	2017	AMC	Only for premiere and finale episodes	[25]
Hacking Robot	Mr. Robot	2016	2019	USA Network	Began with season 2; only for premiere and finale episodes	[26]
Mr. Robot Digital After Show				The Verge / USA Network	Began with season 2; online only	[27]
Raw Talk	Monday Night Raw	2016	present	WWE Network
WWE Talking Smack	SmackDown	2016	Present	WWE Network	Only for one week, aired on FS1 on October 23, 2020.
After Trek	Star Trek: Discovery	2017	2018	CBS All Access	Only for season 1
The Ready Room	Star Trek: Discovery	2019	Present	CBS All Access / Paramount+	Began with season 2
	Star Trek: Lower Decks				Began with season 1; only for premiere and finale episodes with occasional "midseason specials"
	Star Trek: Picard				Began with season 1; bonus episode aired during post season 1 hiatus	[28]
	Star Trek: Prodigy				Began with season 1; only for premiere and finale episodes
	Star Trek: Strange New Worlds				Began with season 1; bonus episode aired prior to season 2
Beyond the Reasons	13 Reasons Why	2017	2019	Netflix	One episode per season.
Beyond Stranger Things	Stranger Things	2017	2017	Netflix	Only for season 2	[29]
Crisis Aftermath	Arrowverse	2019	2019	The CW
Look Hooo's Talking	The Owl House	2020	2020	Disney Channel	Online web series for first ten episodes
Revelations: The Masters of the Universe Revelation Aftershow	Masters of the Universe: Revelation	2021	Present	Netflix		[30]
One Killer Question	Only Murders in the Building	2023	Present	Hulu
Australian Survivor: Talking Tribal	Australian Survivor	2023	Present	Network 10

Parodies

Following the premiere of anime spoof Perfect Hair Forever in 2004, Adult Swim aired a Space Ghost Coast to Coast short—dubbed "Anime Talk Show", and also referred to as "Adult Swim Brain Trust"—in which Space Ghost attempts to conduct an aftershow discussion with Meatwad (of Aqua Teen Hunger Force), Early Cuyler (ofSquidbillies), and Sharko (of Sealab 2021). However, despite Space Ghost's repeated attempts to get them to talk about the show, the panel largely discusses the then-upcoming Squidbillies instead.

British comedian Peter Kay's 2008 reality television satire Britain's Got the Pop Factor... and Possibly a New Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly on Ice featured an "aftershow"—Peter Kay's Britain's Got an Extra Pop Factor and Then Some 2 + 1—an epilogue which followed the aftermath of Geraldine McQueen's victory on Britain's Got the Pop Factor.^[31]

In 2015, when CBS aired reruns of its primetime dramas to fill the former timeslot of Late Show with David Letterman until the premiere of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Late Late Show with James Corden satirized the format with cold open sketches depicting aftershows such as Talking Mentalist and Talking Hawaii Five-0. One sketch also featured a metaparody, Talking Talking Mentalist—an aftershow for Talking Mentalist hosted by Corden's bandleader Reggie Watts.^[32][33]

The 2019 Fox comedy What Just Happened??! with Fred Savage is framed as an aftershow for the in-universe drama series The Flare.^[34] Its season (and ultimately, series) finale featured Savage's character reconciling with the cancellation of The Flare, and having to use his show to promote the teen drama Havenbrook instead.^[35]

References

1. Kelley, Seth (2 June 2016). "TV's Aftershow Phenomenon: From 'Talking Dead' to 'After the Thrones'". Variety. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
2. "From Toronto to Westeros, the birth of the after show". The Toronto Star. 19 May 2016. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
3. Reynolds, Mike (2009-01-28). "Fox Reality Gears Up For Fourth Season Of 'American Idol Extra'". Multichannel News. Retrieved 2023-03-13.
4. "Fans desperate to save Britain's Got More Talent after spin-off is pulled from TV". Radio Times. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
5. "Zoe Ball leaves Strictly: It Takes Two". BBC News. 2021-05-18. Retrieved 2021-05-18.
6. Harrison, Ellie (19 January 2017). "X Factor spin-off Xtra Factor axed with no room for presenters Rylan Clark-Neal and Matt Edmondson as ITV focuses on digital strategy". Radio Times. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
7. MediaInfoline (2015-04-10). "'Extraaa Innings T20'- more than just cricket analysis". Media Infoline. Retrieved 2023-03-13.
8. "Shah Rukh Khan to promote Chennai Express during IPL final". NDTV. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
9. Emine Saner (24 August 2012). "Australian comedian Adam Hills: 'I was born without a foot. Dull. Move on'". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
10. Metlikovec, Jane (19 June 2008). "Comedian Adam Hills to host Paralympics". Herald Sun. Retrieved 19 August 2008.
11. "Exclusive – Adam Hills on The Last Leg's future, favourite guests over the years and filming without a studio audience". Radio Times. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
12. "CTV prepares to launch 'new' MTV Canada". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2019-03-09.
13. Carter, Bill (November 21, 2011). "Bravo Expands Andy Cohen's Show to 5 Nights a Week". Media Decoder (The New York Times). Retrieved February 26, 2014.
14. Stelter, Brian (September 4, 2009). "Cable Executive Gets a Taste of Reality TV". The New York Times. Retrieved February 26, 2014.
15. Yahr, Emily (August 9, 2013). "After the show is the after-show — TV networks look to capitalize on biggest hits". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2014-03-03.
16. Wallenstein, Andrew (2012-03-05). "'Extra' host launches social TV venture". Variety. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
17. Ng, Philiana (September 22, 2011). "It's Official: AMC Orders 'The Walking Dead' Talk Show". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 4, 2012.
18. Steinberg, Brian (September 24, 2013). "Verizon To Sponsor Digital Companion To ABC's 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'". Variety. Archived from the original on September 5, 2023. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
19. Bibel, Sara (July 21, 2013). "AMC Announces Chris Hardwick as Host of 'Talking Bad'". TV by the Numbers. AMC. Archived from the original on July 25, 2013. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
20. Goldberg, Lesley (August 26, 2013). "'Sons of Anarchy' Gets Online Post-Show". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
21. "Space Celebrates the Return of its Original Canadian Series ORPHAN BLACK with Multi-Channel Roadblock Season Premiere April 18". Bell Media. March 11, 2015. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
22. Prudom, Laura; Zumberge, Marianne (March 27, 2016). "'Orphan Black' Gets After-Show, Cast Teases Season 4 Mysteries and Returning Favorites". Variety. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
23. Petski, Denise (February 12, 2016). "'Talking Saul' To Follow 'Better Call Saul's Premiere And Season Finale On AMC". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
24. Kreps, Daniel (April 4, 2016). "HBO, Bill Simmons Announce 'Game of Thrones' Aftershow". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
25. Petski, Denise (May 16, 2016). "'Talking Preacher' To Follow 'Preacher's Season Premiere And Finale On AMC". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
26. Mitovich, Matt Webb (June 23, 2016). "Mr. Robot Gets Expanded Season 2, Bigger Premiere With Live After Show". TVLine. Archived from the original on June 24, 2016. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
27. Lynch, Jason (July 11, 2016). "USA and The Verge Team Up for a Weekly Live Digital Mr. Robot Aftershow". Adweek. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
28. "Wil Wheaton to Host 'Star Trek: Picard' After-Show 'The Ready Room'". TrekNews.net. 2020-01-13. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
29. Stedman, Alex (October 26, 2017). "'Stranger Things' Aftershow to Launch on Netflix". Variety. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
30. Romano, Nick. "He-Man and Skeletor collide in first epic 'Masters of the Universe: Revelation' trailer". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2021-08-21.
31. Chater, David. "Unreported World; Gardeners' World; Oceans; Peter Kay's Britain's Got An Extra Pop Factor". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
32. "Late Night TV: James Corden giving CBS viewers reasons to smile". Orange County Register. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
33. "Is James Corden's 'Talking Mentalist' Bit A Small Protest Over Scheduling, Or Is He Just Having Fun?". Uproxx. 2015-06-05. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
34. Porter, Rick (May 30, 2019). "Fox's Aftershow Parody 'What Just Happened' Adds Co-Host, House Band (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 31, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
35. "TV best bets for the week of Sept. 1". Las Vegas Review-Journal. 2019-08-29. Retrieved 2023-03-13.