Alec Baldwin's Podcast Inspired MSNBC Show 'Up Late': Premiere is Tonight at 10 PM
Alec Baldwin's podcast inspired his MSNBC show, "Up Late," which premieres tonight. The actor has had a plethora of interesting people to interview on his popular podcast "Here's the Thing," and the late show is a translation of a similar format to television.
Alec Baldwin initially didn't want to do a show on MSNBC- he was shopping around for time slots on NBC, but they had none available. When MSNBC President Phil Griffin "jumped up and said he had a time slot," the "30 Rock" actor was weary of being branded with the network's very liberal political broadcasting.
"I wasn't that wild about that idea because MSNBC- which I'm a fan of- it had a certain stamp that I wasn't sure I wanted to wear," he told Politico. "It is this harshly political thing and, regardless of my own politics, I wasn't sure I wanted to dine out on that."
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However, Baldwin and the network managed to ink a deal and rushed to build sets, book guests, decide on small details- the actor refuses to wear an earpiece, like other MSNBC hosts- and construct a format by Oct. 11. The 55-year-old activist described the main difference between "Up Late" will be the in-depth interviews, which he described as "tedious" when done by other shows.
"They ask me the same stuff or someone just clicked on the Internet and asked the Top five things on Google. It was a very tedious format, and the entertainment press is just the worst of all. Ninety percent of them are just going through the motions," Baldwin explained. "They don't really care. … I want to do a show that was more like how I would like to be treated if I were the guest on a show."
He also said he wants talk to "rare" people who aren't in the spotlight all the time, like New York City mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio, Sen. John McCain and former president Bill Clinton.
No matter what, Baldwin is considering his show to be serious, and far away from his award-winning stint on comedy "30 Rock."
"I don't think it'll ever be a show you'd see on Comedy Central. … [Jon] Stewart. Bill Maher. [Stephen] Colbert. … They dominate that world, and I have no desire to compete with that at all," the actor said.
"Up Late" premieres tonight at 10 p.m. on MSNBC.
