Jump to content

Tooning Out the News

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 114.10.22.82 (talk) at 04:53, 3 July 2022 (→Description). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Stephen Colbert Presents Tooning Out the News
Genre
Created by
Voices of
  • R.J. Fried
  • Maureen Monahan
  • Jack Bensinger
  • Naima Pearce
  • Ike Ufomadu
  • Addison Anderson
  • Simone Norman
  • Jeremy Bent
  • Zach Smilovitz
  • Megan Stalter
  • Neil D'Astolfo
Narrated byMitch Lewis
Theme music composerTom Polce
Country of originUnited States
Original language
  • English
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes233
Production
Executive producers
  • Stephen Colbert
  • Chris Licht
  • R. J. Fried
  • Tim Luecke
Producers
  • Zach Smilovitz
  • Mike Leech
  • Nicole Savini
  • Melanie Loebig
  • Tiffany Pollard
Editors
  • Thomas Berkley
  • Jesse Millward
  • Katey Spinner
  • Melissa Weiss
Running time5-44 min.
Production companies
Original release
Network
ReleaseApril 7, 2020 (2020-04-07) –
present
Related

Stephen Colbert Presents Tooning Out the News (often abbreviated as TOTN) is an American live-action/animated satirical news television program created and executive produced by comedian and Late Show host Stephen Colbert, Chris Licht, R. J. Fried and Tim Luecke. 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] From November 1–3, 2020, the program also covered the 2020 United States presidential election. The first season ended on December 11, 2020.

In March 2021, it was announced that the series had been renewed for a second season started with an exclusive 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 April 28, 2021, the program also covered the 2021 joint session of the United States Congress. On July 23, 2021, the program made its appearances to covered during Paramount+'s "Peak Animation" panel at 2021 Comic-Con@Home.

On October 4, 2021, it was announced that the regular episodes would expand to a half-hour starting on October 8, 2021, and the series would switch to a weekly format. The half-hour episodes are released every Friday. The second season ended on November 12, 2021. On May 18, 2022, it was announced that the series would move to Comedy Central.

Description

Describing itself as an animated news program, Tooning Out the News combines live-action and animation and focuses on news satire from real-life news stories, political issues, popular culture topics, media coverage, and often uses self-referential humor as well.

The first season consisted of four main segments, "Big News with James Smartwood," "Inside The Hill," "Hot Take," and "Virtue Signal," which resembling the shows as seen on cable news channels, plus added interstitial vignettes covering other stories not mentioned in the main segments. The second season added two new segments, "The Establishment with Tory Hughes" and "Smart Talk Tonight."

Three of the main segments originally 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 are released every Friday. Some interstitial vignettes are previewed on The Late Show. Regular episodes expanded to a half-hour starting on October 8, 2021, and the series would switch to a weekly format.[4]

Episodes

SeasonEpisodesOriginally released
First releasedLast releasedNetwork
1112April 7, 2020 (2020-04-07)December 11, 2020 (2020-12-11)CBS All Access
2121March 9, 2021 (2021-03-09)November 12, 2021 (2021-11-12)Paramount+

Season 1 (2020)

Season 2 (2021)

Season 3 (TBA)

Cast and characters

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

History

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

Tooning Out The News has been nominated for a Critics' Choice Award for Best Short Form Series[8] and an Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Form Comedy, Drama or Variety Series.[9]

On October 4, 2021, it was announced that the regular episodes would expand to a half-hour starting on October 8, 2021, and the series would switch to a weekly format.[4] On May 18, 2022, it was announced that the series would move to Comedy Central as part of its adult animation push. Paramount+ will still serve as its streaming home.[10]

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.[11] After the pandemic forced animators to work from home, they switched to remote production, shipping equipment to animator's houses and using Live2D software, including Adobe's Character Animator, to animate the show's virtual hosts, which allow guests to interact with the show’s animated hosts in real-time.

The pandemic also forced producers to find a remote solution for guests, who were set to be filmed in studio. Because the show's back-and-forth banter required low latency, producers partnered with The Video Call Center to handle acquisition and quality control of guest connections.[12] The VCC developed a custom process that enables the show’s animated hosts to have topical, live, natural conversations with newsmakers.[13]

Notable guests

The show featuring an interviews with newsmakers, journalists, analysts, politicians, activists, and celebrities, 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 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.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ Desowitz, Bill (2020-04-16). "'Tooning Out the News' Reinvented Its Animated Workflow to Fight Coronavirus". IndieWire. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  7. ^ 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)
  8. ^ "Critics Choice Awards 2021: The Complete List of TV Nominees". Entertainment Tonight. 18 January 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  9. ^ Shanfeld, Ethan; Bosselman, Haley; Moreau, Jordan (13 July 2021). "Emmys 2021: Complete Nominations List". Variety. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  10. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (May 18, 2022). "'Tooning Out The News' Moves From Paramount+ To Comedy Central, New 'Inside Amy Schumer' To Also Be Available On Old Net". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  11. ^ Dowling, Amber (2020-04-14). "How 'Tooning Out The News' Pivoted Its Animation Process Amid Coronavirus Pandemic". Variety. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  12. ^ "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.
  13. ^ "VCC Assists with Live Interviews for CBS Animated Series". 25 June 2020.
  14. ^ 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)
  15. ^ Goodykoontz, Bill. "Joe Arpaio was interviewed for Stephen Colbert's 'Tooning Out the News.' It was brutal". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  16. ^ "Lincoln Project cofounder Rick Wilson gets sabotaged by Colbert's cartoon news anchors". The Week. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  17. ^ Goodykoontz, Bill. "Why Stephen Colbert's new TV news parody 'Tooning Out the News' really needs to be great". azcentral. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Tooning_Out_the_News&oldid=1096229960"