‘TV’s Top 5’: What to Expect From Stephen Colbert’s Election Special

Welcome to another episode of TV’s Top 5, The Hollywood Reporter‘s TV podcast.

Every week, hosts Lesley Goldberg (West Coast TV editor) and Daniel Fienberg (chief TV critic) break down the latest TV news with context from the business and critical sides, welcome showrunners, executive and other guests and provide a critical guide of what to watch (or skip, as the case may be).

This week’s five topics are:

1. World Series winners!
Yes, I know that most of our listeners aren’t baseball fans but the Dodgers won the team’s first World Series in 32 years and this is a short segment that also touches on the insanity that ensued after the game was over and looks at why ratings for the Fall Classic hit an all-time low.

Related Stories

TV

Peacock/NBC Chief on Streamer's 'Poker Face' Hot Streak, Ad Tier Changes and Lessons From 'Vampire Academy'

TV

'Shrinking' Creators on Harrison Ford, Therapy and 'The Muppets'

2. How broadcast shows are portraying life during the pandemic.
In this segment, Dan explores how shows like This Is Us and Black-ish, among others, are portraying life during the novel coronavirus pandemic and if the new safety protocols are impacting how dramas and comedies filmed during covid look.

3. Jon Stewart’s return.
This week, the former Daily Show host inked a big deal with Apple that includes his return to the hosting chair in a weekly topical series for the tech giant. This segment explores what Apple gets in Stewart and the key exec he’s reuniting with at the iPhone maker who was key to his HBO deal, too.

4. Showrunner Spotlight.
This week, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert showrunner Chris Licht joins us for an interview about Showtime’s special Stephen Colbert’s Election Night 2020: Democracy’s Last Stand: Building Back America. How will the special, which airs Tuesday on Election Night, handle the fact that there may not be a clear winner in the race for president? Licht also opens up about lessons he learned during Showtime’s 2016 special and shares some untold stories of what would have happened had HRC been declared the winner.

5. Critic’s Corner.
As usual, every episode ends with Dan’s look at what to watch (or skip). This week, he weighs in on Netflix’s Somebody Feed Phil, Amazon’s Truth Seekers and more.

Hear it all now on TV’s Top 5. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to never miss an episode. (Reviews welcome!) You can also email us with any topics or questions you’d like to be addressed in future episodes at TVsTop5@THR.com.