Later | |
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Also known as | 'Later with Bob Costas Later with Greg Kinnear' |
Presented by |
Bob Costas (1988–1994) Greg Kinnear (1994–1996) Guest hosts (1996–2000) Cynthia Garrett (2000–2001) |
Country of origin | United States |
Production | |
Running time | 30 minutes |
Release | |
Original network | NBC |
Original release | August 22, 1988 – January 18, 2001 (original episodes; SCTV episodes until January 4, 2002) |
Chronology | |
Followed by | Last Call with Carson Daly |
Later was a nightly half-hour-long talk show that ran on NBC from 1988 until 2001. Later typically aired for half an hour at 1:30 a.m. following Late Night with David Letterman from 1988 to 1993, and Late Night with Conan O'Brien from 1993 to 2001. It was succeeded by Last Call with Carson Daly in 2002.
During Bob Costas' tenure as host, the show won the 1993 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Informational Series. It was nominated in the same category in 1992, and in the Outstanding Achievement in Graphic Design and Title Sequences category (currently called the Main Title Design category) in 1989.
Sportscaster Bob Costas hosted Later from 1988 until 1994. Created and produced by Dick Ebersol, the program in this period was something of a break from the typical American TV talk show format of the era, featuring Costas and a single guest having an intense conversation for the entire half hour, without a house band, opening monologue, studio audience or guest musical performances, similar to what Tom Snyder had done on Tomorrow in a similar timeslot during the 1970s and would again do on the The Late Late Show in the mid-1990s. Later was taped in New York City at GE Building's famous Studio 8H, and occasionally in Los Angeles. Costas interviewed a single guest for 45 minutes to an hour in real time before turning the material over to editors, who condensed it down to 22 minutes plus commercials. On several occasions, an interview with a particularly noteworthy guest (examples include Paul McCartney, Don Rickles and Martin Scorsese) was shown over multiple nights. These in-depth discussions won Costas much praise for his interviewing skills. Costas resided in St. Louis all through his run on Later, flying to New York City once per week to shoot a week worth of shows, recording all four in a single day.