Actor’s talk show trashed by critics, some calling it a ‘snooze’
Some may wonder why Alec Baldwin is doing a talk show. Others may be puzzled why it’s apparently set in a steakhouse.
At any rate, Up Late with Alec Baldwin premiered on Friday in the US with about 654,000 total viewers, according to Nielsen.
That performance wasn’t too bad for a Friday night, but it was nowhere near the 1.5 million that showed up for Sean Hannity’s program on Fox News Channel. However, building a talk show following takes time.
The critics weren’t in a forgiving mood. The premiere featured the former 30 Rock actor and his guest, New York mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio, nestled into a green banquette in a set that looked like it was built for a mob-meeting scene in Goodfellas.
Slate called it My Dinner with Alec and described the proceedings as “willfully wonky.” The Daily Beast called it a “snooze.”
Baldwin’s conservative detractors were predictably even less gracious. Twitter aggregator Twitchy called the show “soporific” and accumulated an array of unflattering tweets, many describing the show as “boring.”
Sign up for the Daily Briefing
Get the latest news and updates straight to your inbox