Oprah's Last Show Nears
Reporter: Dhomonique Ricks l Videographer: Daniel Heffner
In a little more than a week, a television giant is moving on and leaving one of the most successful shows in daytime history.
Oprah Winfrey's final new episode will air on May 25. Her last taping is Tuesday. Two episodes shot at this time at Chicago's United Center will air on the 23 and 24, and 20,000 fans are expected to show up.
Oprah dominated daytime talk for 25 years. An estimated 42 million viewers watch her show every week in the United States.
"It's going to be sad. Some of us have been watching her for 20 plus years and she's just part of our daily routine," Tracy Trent said.
Oprah can be described as a living legend.
"When Oprah arrived, something changed. Something about this talk show culture really shifted," Lynchburg College Associate Professor of Communications Studies Michael Robinson said.
Robinson says Oprah stands out because she is an open book. "We know about the weight gains. We know about the relationship troubles. We know about the weight loss attempts," Robinson said. "She has overcome many things that have been difficult and tried to be a positive influence," Kaye Lipscomb said. "She has brought forth a lot of the issues that people never talked about before," Trent said.She also comes across as a friend. "People like to feel that connection. We call that Para social interaction," Robinson said.
Another reason for her remarkable success; Oprah is a brand.
"I think she's amazing in what she's done," Robinson said.
"I think she's been a positive influence for many people particularly encouraging them to read and to support education," Lipscomb said.
And Robinson points out, Oprah is not leaving altogether.
"Oprah isn't going away, she's just going somewhere else," Robinson said.
"I don't know if you can repeat something that's been done so well and that's going to be an issue. We just might not watch TV as much," Trent said.
Harpo Productions received more than 154,000 ticket requests for seats to Tuesday's event. Tickets were free and distributed to fans through a lottery.
A lot of celebrities are expected in the farewell show.
Reruns will continue until September 9.
Source: Oprah's Last Show NearsIn a little more than a week, a television giant is moving on and leaving one of the most successful shows in daytime history.
Oprah Winfrey's final new episode will air on May 25. Her last taping is Tuesday. Two episodes shot at this time at Chicago's United Center will air on the 23 and 24, and 20,000 fans are expected to show up.
Oprah dominated daytime talk for 25 years. An estimated 42 million viewers watch her show every week in the United States.
"It's going to be sad. Some of us have been watching her for 20 plus years and she's just part of our daily routine," Tracy Trent said.
Oprah can be described as a living legend.
"When Oprah arrived, something changed. Something about this talk show culture really shifted," Lynchburg College Associate Professor of Communications Studies Michael Robinson said.
Robinson says Oprah stands out because she is an open book. "We know about the weight gains. We know about the relationship troubles. We know about the weight loss attempts," Robinson said. "She has overcome many things that have been difficult and tried to be a positive influence," Kaye Lipscomb said. "She has brought forth a lot of the issues that people never talked about before," Trent said.She also comes across as a friend. "People like to feel that connection. We call that Para social interaction," Robinson said.
Another reason for her remarkable success; Oprah is a brand.
"I think she's amazing in what she's done," Robinson said.
"I think she's been a positive influence for many people particularly encouraging them to read and to support education," Lipscomb said.
And Robinson points out, Oprah is not leaving altogether.
"Oprah isn't going away, she's just going somewhere else," Robinson said.
"I don't know if you can repeat something that's been done so well and that's going to be an issue. We just might not watch TV as much," Trent said.
Harpo Productions received more than 154,000 ticket requests for seats to Tuesday's event. Tickets were free and distributed to fans through a lottery.
A lot of celebrities are expected in the farewell show.
Reruns will continue until September 9.
No comments:
Post a Comment