Features
‘It allows the guest to set the agenda’: Shaun Micallef turns the tables on the traditional talk show
It’s a simple premise, as is the case with all great television: if your house was about to be destroyed, which two items would you save? Shaun Micallef admits he stole the basic idea for his new ABC show Eve Of Destruction from a therapy exercise – but after all, an idea is just an idea.
“It’s a window into what is important to the person,” he tells Mumbrella of the idea behind pinpointing one’s most treasured items.
“And then it reveals a lot about them: their choice, whether they pick something from their marriage or something from a parent who maybe has passed on. All those things are windows into the soul of the person you’re asking the question of – and I just stole that, essentially.
“I tried to think of an interview premise that would just involve one question. I can sit back and just listen to the answer, 15 minutes, bring the second guest on, do the same thing, you roll credits and the show’s finished.
“It felt like an economical way of boxing up a nice interview program,” he continues.
“The other thing I liked about it was that it allows the guest to set the agenda rather than have the show set it or the interviewer set it, and they’re comfortable talking about something they’re passionate about – and they want to talk about it. They’re enthusiastic about it.”
This is where it differs somewhat from the usual talk show format, in which the guest is shilling a product or a program, often under light duress.
“They’re actually talking about something that means something to them,” Micallef reasons of his show, “so there was always the chance that this show could be different to other programs for that reason.”
After steering numerous bastardisations of the chat format, whether it be the surrealism of The Micallef Program’s three series run at the turn of the century (where the title was slightly changed each series — from The Micallef Program, to The Micallef Programme, and The Micallef Pogram), through to the political satire of Newstopia and the long-running Mad As Hell, Micallef is somewhat of an expert in the genre.
“We kind of go off on different roads and paths and byways and cul-de-sacs and that sort of thing,” he says of Eve Of Destruction. “We could talk about anything. But it’s what they want to talk about, rather than what I like to talk about.”
Micallef again makes the point he is riding passenger, rather than dominating the chat. “I’m going to dance with you, but I’ll let you lead, you know? If they run into trouble, then I can step in,” he says of his approach.
The first episode aired last Wednesday with Boy Swallows Universe star Felix Cameron and The Castle’s Stephen Curry as the first two guests. Just shy of a million people tuned in throughout the broadcast, with an average audience of 598,000. A solid first-week result.
(Carrying on a tradition that stems from the late ’90s, Micallef has written nonsensical show descriptions for each episode – last week’s reads: “Shaun interviews the vampire Lestat who unfortunately, because he’s a vampire, is unable to reflect on his career.”)
Micallef admits he’s “calling in a few favours” guest-wise, given the show’s untested format. “So there are a few guests with whom I have established a good rapport and the show benefits from that, I think,” he says.
“But equally, there are probably as many guests who I don’t know and they have never met. And part of the fun and the challenge and the interest for me is meeting new people.
“The other thing, I don’t have any notes, so I’m just kind of looking at the person right in the eyes – so there’s actual real human contact, which is, you know, it’s a rarity in the world of broadcasting, isn’t it? TV or radio. You don’t get a chance really to have a conversation with someone because you are processing so much information. Both of you, you’re processing stuff. You’ve got cameras on you. You’ve got a studio audience who are an important dynamic, that you must navigate.
“But we found that about two or three minutes into the interview, it just becomes about two people talking. And surprisingly, that is quite compelling to watch, I think.”
He adds a final caveat. “This is my view. I’ve got a vested interest in saying that.”
Shaun Micallef’s Eve of Destruction airs on Wednesday nights on ABC and is available to stream on ABC iView.
Keep up to date with the latest in media and marketing
Linkedin
Lestat (Sam Reid) lives in Oz so why not invite him on?
User ID not verified.
Why are we still seeing stupid words like Streaming . what bright spark came up with that. It has nothing to do with viewing
User ID not verified.
Have your say