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Tooning Out the News

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Stephen Colbert Presents Tooning Out the News
Genre
Created by
Voices of
  • R.J. Fried
  • Maureen Monahan
  • Jack Bensinger
  • Naima Pearce
  • Ikechukwu Ufomadu
  • Addison Anderson
  • Simone Norman
  • Jeremy Bent
  • Megan Stalter
  • Zach Smilovitz
  • Neil D'Astolfo
Theme music composerTom Polce
Country of originUnited States
Original language
  • English
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes227
Production
Executive producers
  • Stephen Colbert
  • Chris Licht
  • Tim Luecke
  • R. J. Fried
Producers
  • Mike Leech
  • Zach Smilovitz
  • Nicole Savini
  • Melanie Loebig
  • Tiffany Pollard
Editors
  • Thomas Berkley
  • Jesse Millward
  • Katey Spinner
  • Melissa Weiss
Running time5-44 min.
Production companySpartina Productions

RJ Fried Worldwide

CBS Studios
Original release
Network
ReleaseApril 7, 2020 (2020-04-07) –
present
Related

Stephen Colbert Presents Tooning Out the News is an American animated political satire television series executive produced by comedian and Late Show host Stephen Colbert. The series premiered on CBS All Access (now Paramount+) on April 7, 2020.

From August 18–20, 2020, the program covered the 2020 Democratic National Convention.[1] It also covered the 2020 Republican National Convention from August 26–28, 2020.[2]

The first season ended on December 11, 2020.

The second season started with a half-hour special on March 4, 2021 which was followed by a full premiere on March 9, 2021. Season 2 added two new segments: "The Establishment with Tory Hughes" and "Smart Talk Tonight."[3] On October 4, 2021, it was announced the episodes will now expand to a half-hour starting on October 8, 2021. The half-hour episodes will be released every Friday.

Description

Describing itself as an animated news program, Tooning Out the News draws its satire and animation from recent news stories, political figures, media organizations, and often uses self-referential humor as well.

The first season consisted of four main segments, "Big News," "Inside The Hill," "Virtue Signal," and "Hot Take," resembling shows seen on cable news channels, plus added interstitial vignettes covering other stories not mentioned in the main segments.

Three of the main segments debut on Paramount+ Tuesday through Thursday (the morning after a new The Late Show with Stephen Colbert episode), with the fourth, plus a compilation "Week in Review" show containing all four plus vignettes, released Fridays.

The interstitial vignettes are often previewed on the Late Show, one per night. The second season added two new segments "The Establishment with Tory Hughes" and "Smart Talk Tonight."

Episodes

SeasonEpisodesOriginally released
First releasedLast releasedNetwork
1112April 7, 2020 (2020-04-07)December 11, 2020 (2020-12-11)CBS All Access
2TBAMarch 9, 2021 (2021-03-09)TBAParamount+

Cast and characters

  • R.J. Fried as James Smartwood
  • Maureen Monahan as Kylie Weaver / Nicole Vance / Sarah Sabo
  • Jack Bensinger as Tyler Templeton
  • Naima Pearce as Tory Hughes
  • Ikechukwu Ufomadu as Dr. Ike Bloom
  • Simone Norman as Eleanor Palmer
  • Addison Anderson as Rich Ballard / Austin Sparks
  • Jeremy Bent as Teddy Hopper / Jonathan Keene
  • Megan Stalter as Bonnie Davis
  • Zach Smilovitz as James Smartwood Jr.
  • Neil D'Astolfo as Peter Womack/Troy Lawson
  • Alise Morales as Lila Moreno
  • Nathan Min as Brian Min
  • Otter Lee as Otter Lin
  • Corin Wells as Lydia Parker
  • Steph Cook as Charlotte Fitzgerald
  • Graham Techler as Kenneth Parsons
  • Jeremy Levick as Jeremy Levy-Levin
  • Rajat Suresh as Rajat Mehta

History

The show was set to premiere on March 16, 2020, but production was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4] The series debuted on April 7, 2020, instead, after production continued remotely, with animators and showrunner RJ Fried, who has also produced The Late Show and the animated show Our Cartoon President, working via Zoom and Slack.[5][6]

Tooning Out The News has been nominated for a Critics' Choice Award for Best Short Form Series[7] and an Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Form Comedy, Drama or Variety Series.[8]

Regular episodes expanded to a half hour format beginning with the October 8, 2021 episode.[9]

Production

The show originally used motion capture to "record" the actors' performances on the show, after converting David Letterman's old personal screening room at the Ed Sullivan Theater as a control room.[10] After the pandemic forced animators to work from home, they switched to remote production, shipping equipment to animator's houses and using Live2D software include Adobe's Character Animator to animate the virtual hosts of the show.

Originally, guests were set to be in studio, but also due to the pandemic, producers needed a remote solution. With low-latency being of extreme importance for the back and forth banter of the show, producers partnered with The Video Call Center to handle acquisition and quality control of guest connections.[11] The VCC developed a custom process that enables the show’s animated hosts to have topical, live, natural conversations with newsmakers.[12]

Notable guests

The show features interviews with politicians and activists, including:

References

  1. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (2020-08-17). "'Tooning Out the News' Launches Special 2020 Election Coverage with DNC". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 2020-08-21.
  2. ^ "Anthony Scaramucci to Appear on 'Tooning Out the News' RNC Special". 26 August 2020.
  3. ^ "Paramount+ Renews' Tooning Out the News' S2 with New Segments". 11 February 2021.
  4. ^ a b c White, Peter (2020-03-31). "'Tooning Out The News': Stephen Colbert Animated News Show Resumes Production & CBS All Access Sets New Premiere". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  5. ^ Desowitz, Bill (2020-04-16). "'Tooning Out the News' Reinvented Its Animated Workflow to Fight Coronavirus". IndieWire. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  6. ^ Swain, Rhea. "Having the last laugh: How late-night comedy is moving online during coronavirus". The Daily Targum. Retrieved 2020-06-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ^ "Critics Choice Awards 2021: The Complete List of TV Nominees". Entertainment Tonight. 18 January 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  8. ^ Shanfeld, Ethan; Bosselman, Haley; Moreau, Jordan (13 July 2021). "Emmys 2021: Complete Nominations List". Variety. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  9. ^ Tooning Out the News (4 October 2021). "BREAKING NEWS: Stephen Colbert Presents Tooning Out The News is expanding to new half-hour episodes every Friday starting October 8th". Twitter. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  10. ^ Dowling, Amber (2020-04-14). "How 'Tooning Out The News' Pivoted Its Animation Process Amid Coronavirus Pandemic". Variety. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  11. ^ "Innovative New Animated Series to Enable Live Video Chats Between Newsmakers and Animated Hosts". The Video Call Center. 2020-06-24. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  12. ^ "VCC Assists with Live Interviews for CBS Animated Series". 25 June 2020.
  13. ^ a b Porter, Rick (31 March 2020). "Stephen Colbert's 'Tooning Out the News' Restarts With Remote Production". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2020-06-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. ^ Goodykoontz, Bill. "Why Stephen Colbert's new TV news parody 'Tooning Out the News' really needs to be great". azcentral. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
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