Talk Shows

Fresh Air's TV critic rounds up the hottest and the hottest of the year that was. Worth watching? A BBC America import about a choir director teaching people to sing. Jersey Shore? Makes Bianculli want to shower.

The political satirist and comedian talks about his Broadway performance (and performance anxieties) and about his recent segments on The Colbert Report featuring Sarah Palin and Anthony Weiner.

On Friday, Regis Philbin will step down from his hosting duties on the talk show Live with Regis and Kelly. But that doesn't mean he's retiring. In his new memoir, How I Got This Way, Philbin chronicles the twists and turns of his career and explains where he plans to go next.

Both The David Susskind Show and The Sid Caesar Show featured large, unwieldy guest rosters and entertaining, timely jokes. A vintage episode of Susskind's show and a reunion of Caesar's writers are now available on DVD. TV critic David Bianculli says both offerings are laugh-out-loud funny.

Monday night on PBS, American Masters presents a two-hour biography of Johnny Carson. Carson retired 20 year ago this month, and vacated a throne that TV critic David Bianculli says no one has managed to claim since.

Stephen Colbert has a new book called America Again: Re-becoming the Greatness We Never Weren't. It explores the dichotomy between thinking America is perfect — and feeling the urge to save the country from disaster at every moment.

Colbert loves music and loves to sing, so Fresh Air's Terry Gross asked him to bring a few songs that mean a lot to him and tell her why.

This year, the late-night talk-show host set up camp in the 11:35 p.m. slot, which put him head-to-head with Jay Leno and Kimmel's idol, David Letterman. Kimmel has put a personal mark on his show by bringing in his family to help him make it happen.

After hosting his Sunday morning show on MSNBC for the past year and a half, Hayes is making the move to a weeknight news show that premieres April 1. At 34, Hayes will be the youngest prime-time anchor on any of the major cable news channels.

Two new shows from Netflix -- House of Cards and Orange is the New Black -- changed the TV landscape, but Bianculli's top pick for 2013 is AMC's Breaking Bad. "It ended as brilliantly as it began," he says. "I'm so grateful for that series."

On Monday night, Jimmy Fallon paid homage to 60 years of Tonight Show history while claiming his own place in line. "I just want to do the best I can and take care of the show for a while," he said. "If you guys let me stick around long enough maybe I'll get the hang of it."

Myers left a dream job hosting Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update to take over Late Night from Jimmy Fallon. Meyers says not having a mic in hand -- like he did in standup -- took some adjusting.

The late-night talk show, imported by BBC America, has been around for years. TV critic David Bianculli says it's never been better — it's like eavesdropping on an all-star cocktail party.

The comedian who was a correspondent on The Daily Show for 7 1/2 years now pokes fun on Last Week Tonight. Oliver talks about tasing his leg, temping for a thief and remaining an outsider.

Ahead of The Colbert Report's last episode, Fresh Air listens back to interviews with Colbert. "I didn't realize quite how liberal I was until I was asked to make passionate comedic choices," he said.

On Monday night, Comedy Central premiered former Daily Show correspondent Larry Wilmore's new show. While Wilmore's sarcastic comments on clips were funny, the round-table discussion didn't sparkle.

Franklin was a talk-show host for more than 40 years. Guests ranged from Elvis Presley, Woody Allen and Barbra Streisand. He died Jan. 24 at 88 years old. In 1988, Franklin talked with Terry Gross.

Wilmore is still fine-tuning The Nightly Show, which fill the late-night spot on Comedy Central vacated by Stephen Colbert. The show launched just as Wilmore's 20-year marriage was coming to an end.

The Late Late Show with James Corden fills the post-David Letterman time slot on CBS. TV critic David Bianculli says that based on first impressions, Corden will "settle in nicely."