The Wilton North Report
| The Wilton North Report | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Late night newsmagazine/comedy/talk/variety |
| Developed by | Fox Television Network |
| Presented by |
Phil Cowan Paul Robins |
| Narrated by |
Michael Hanks Don Morrow |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 21 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Barry Sand |
| Running time | 60 Minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | Fox |
| Original release | December 11, 1987 – January 8, 1988 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | The Late Show |
| Followed by | The Late Show |
The Wilton North Report is a late-night combined newsmagazine, talk show, and variety show that aired on Fox in December 1987 and January 1988. It was Fox's second attempt at a regular late-night show, replacing The Late Show. The series premiered on December 11, 1987 and ended four weeks later, on January 8, 1988. Hosted by Phil Cowan and Paul Robins, the show sought to combine comedy with newsmagazine-style features and serious interviews. Michael Hanks initially served as the show's announcer, with Don Morrow filling that role for its final two weeks.
As first conceived, The Wilton North Report's opening segment, which was planned to be its signature segment, would review the day's news using actual footage, then have the hosts comment on it in a funny, hard-hitting fashion. (CBC Television's This Hour Has 22 Minutes and Comedy Central's The Daily Show would follow a similar premise later on.) Before the show's debut, however, producer Barry Sand would eliminate the news segment, believing it didn't mesh with the "friendly" approach of the show's co-hosts, Phil Cowan and Paul Robins. What Wilton North did have at its premiere was a newsmagazine-type show, relying not so much on jokes about current events as on features, interviews, and remote reports (some serious, others not so much), as well as occasional comedy bits and live musical performances. Cowan and Robins would serve as the show's "anchors" and offer their own comments and opinions and segments, with a regular assortment of reporters and commentators alongside them. The cast included interviewers and reporters including Nancy Collins, Greg Jackson, Wayne Satz, and (on health and fitness) Jack LaLanne, along with commentary on the news by staff writer and author/commentator Paul Krassner.
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