When Steve Harvey talks about stand up comedy, he can sound like a physicist. "My job is to draw an instant reaction and measure that reaction and that act upon that action again," he says after a recent taping of his daytime talk show at the NBC Tower in Chicago. "That's what stand up is. I have to make an observation that makes 85 percent of that room laugh every eight to 12 seconds for an hour an a half to be successful and make money at this. I figured that out."
read moreDaytime talk shows often stage emotional reunions, but what happens when the host is the one surprised?
During a taping last week, Steve Harvey took an unexpected satellite call from someone wishing him a happy 56th birthday. As the man came on screen, Harvey immediately choked up.
Returning shows: Where we left off
"This is Rich Liss from Orlando, Florida," the man said. "Do you still love me, baby?"
After a brief silence, Harvey finally said, "Hey man, I love you."
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A lot of new big names have moved into the daytime neighborhood this fall, but viewers are choosing to spend more time with a familiar friend. The Ellen DeGeneres Show is off to its best start in its 10-year history, ranking as the No. 1 syndicated talk program among the advertiser-favored audience of women ages 25-54 through the first two weeks of the TV season. Its overall average of 3.3 million viewers is up 6 percent from a year ago, putting it behind Dr. Phil (3.8 million) and Live With Kelly and Michael (3.4 million).
When Oprah Winfrey ended her program in 2011, insiders in the syndication business wondered where her viewers would go. No program last year took immediate advantage of the upheaval, but daytime habits change glacially. "All the research indicated that after Oprah left there was a large opportunity for Ellen, and that may be playing itself out," says Ken Werner, president of Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution, which syndicates Ellen. read more