Anderson Cooper’s daytime talk show returns Sept. 10 for its second season, armed with a new set in a new studio with a new format — and even a new name, “Anderson Live.”
The show’s executive producer, Terence Noonan, is fired up about Cooper’s sophomore season, especially after a freshman campaign in which the show, called “Anderson” last season, was the top-rated new entry in the syndicated talk-show field.
“What’s great about having that first season is we can look back and see what worked and what didn’t work, and what’s going to play to the strengths of our host,” says Noonan. “I made the decision that Season Two had to be live and topically driven — to be what I like to call ‘Watercooler for Daytime.’ ”
The show’s biggest change was moving “Anderson Live” to the CBS Broadcast Center (on West 57th) from its first-season home in The Allen Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center (in the Time Warner Center).
“We had to take the set down every day [at The Allen Room] and couldn’t make it our home,” says Noonan. “Anderson couldn’t respond to news stories people cared about. We rented that space . . . and now we’re in a studio where we can be at the pulse of what’s happening.”
The move necessitated a new set — which you can see in the exclusive photo accompanying this item — and also some changes in the show’s format.
For starters, it will now air live in many markets. And, each and every day, Cooper will be paired with a guest co-host. Goldie Hawn, Kellie Pickler, David Arquette, Cyndi Lauper, Andy Cohen, DL Hughley, Erin Andrews, Howie Mandel and Kelly Osbourne are among those who are lined up to guest-co-host this season.
“We have 170 shows to tape but people are calling us [to guest co-host], and that’s exciting,” Noonan says. “They say, ‘I’ve got something to say and I want to talk to Anderson.’ ”
The show’s roster of guests this season includes Kelsey Grammer, Beyonce, Richard Gere, Jake Gyllenhaal and Ben Affleck, among others.
“Anderson Live” will open with a new segment, “The First Fifteen,” in which Cooper will discuss topical news stories, conduct interviews, Skype and Tweet and generally utilize many facets of social media.
“It’s live and interactive and really will be live so viewers can Tweet and Facebook us and send us e-mails,” Noonan says. “We’ll be interacting with America.
“And the best part of doing a live show is when things go wrong, which is what I love the best,” he says. “We’re going take down the wall a bit. If a guest is running late, as opposed to all the behind-the-scenes scurrying around, we’ll have Anderson call the guest in the car and do the interview. We’ll bring our viewers into the process of how the show is made and allow them to be involved in that way.”
Noonan sums it up thusly:
“I keep hearing everyone say, ‘What makes you so different?’ It’s very clear to me,” he says. “We have Anderson Cooper.
“I’ll just leave it at that.”
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Last, but not least:
* Al Roker and his production company, Al Roker Entertainment, were honored in Washington, DC yesterday by the United States Coast Guard with its Meritorious Public Service Award for their show, “Coast Guard Alaska” . . . “Copper” premiered to 1.1 million viewers Sunday night on BBC America. It’ll be out on DVD/Blu-ray Oct. 30 . . . Shine America has teamed with Pop-Up Pantry to allow fans of Fox’s “Masterchef” to enjoy three-course meals from the show’s Top Two home cooks (popuppantry.com/masterchef has info) . . . Matthew Broderick will play “The Dream Warrior” in the Sept. 3 episode of “Adventure Time” on Cartoon Network . . . Monday-night’s season finale of “Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta” snared 3.7 million viewers on VH1, while Animal Planet scored its best nightly numbers in eight years, among persons 25-54, with last Saturday’s lineup of “Tanked” and “My Cat From Hell.”