Extra (TV program)
| Extra | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Also known as | 'Extra: The Entertainment Magazine (1994–1996) |
| Genre | Entertainment newsmagazine |
| Presented by |
Mario Lopez (2008–present) Tracey Edmonds (2014–present) Charissa Thompson (2014–present) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 21 |
| No. of episodes | 6,329 (as of December 19, 2014; 5,275, weekdays; 1,054, weekend) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Lisa Gregorisch Dempsey (1996–present) Theresa Coffino (2012–present) Jeremy Speigel (2014–present) |
| Location(s) |
Victory Studios, Glendale, California (1994–2010) The Grove at Farmers Market, Los Angeles (2010–2013) Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal City, California (2013-present) |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time |
20 minutes (weekday editions) 42 minutes (weekend edition) |
| Production company(s) |
Time-Telepictures Television (1994–1998) (seasons 1-4) Telepictures Productions (1998–present) (season 5-present) Nuell Riley Productions (1994–1996) (seasons 1-2) Tinsletown Entertainment (1996–1998) (seasons 3-4) Lisa G Productions (2014–present) |
| Distributor | Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution |
| Release | |
| Original network | Syndicated |
| Picture format |
480i (SDTV; 1994–2010) 1080i (HDTV; 2010–present) |
| Original release | September 5, 1994 – present |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Extra (originally titled Extra: The Entertainment Magazine from 1994 to 1996) is an American syndicated television newsmagazine that is distributed by Warner Bros. Television Distribution and premiered on September 5, 1994. The program serves as a straight rundown of news headlines and gossip throughout the entertainment industry, providing coverage of events and celebrities; however, since 2013, it has also placed an even greater emphasis on interviews and insider previews of upcoming film and television projects.
As of 2014, the program's weekday broadcasts are currently anchored by Mario Lopez, Tracey Edmonds and Charissa Thompson; its weekend editions are co-anchored by Lopez and Renee Bargh, who also serves as a correspondent for the weekday editions.
History
The series was developed in the fall of 1993, for a planned launch during the 1994–95 television season. The program was developed under the working title Entertainment News Television; however due to claims that it too closely mirrored its own name, cable channel E!: Entertainment Television filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros. Television and Telepictures Productions to bar them from using the title; although E! lost the lawsuit in a summary judgment hearing allowing Warner Bros. to continue to use the ENT title for the series, Warner Bros. decided to change the name of the program to Extra: The Entertainment Magazine in May 1994, four months before the series made its debut, with Warner Bros. executives citing that the abbreviated ENT title was too similar to that used by Entertainment Tonight (which is commonly known simply as ET), possibly leading to viewer confusion and hurting ratings in the process.[1]
The program was initially anchored by Dave Nemeth and Arthel Neville. Arthel joined the program after a three-year run as anchor at New Orleans ABC affiliate WVUE-TV (now a Fox affiliate). Extra was initially distributed by Time-Telepictures Television, a joint venture between Time Inc. and Telepictures – both of which were owned at the time by Time Warner (which would eventually spin off Time Inc. in 2012) – that was absorbed by Telepictures in 2003. Dave Nemeth and Arthel Neville were both replace by Brad Goode and Libby Weaver on June 10th, 1996 for the remainder of Season 2, and Season 3(which is premiered on September 9th, 1996, before Libby was replaced by Maureen O'Boyle in July 1997 during Season 3.) Maureen O'Boyle took over as main anchor of the program in September 1997 during season 4 premiere; following O'Boyle's departure in September 2000, former Entertainment Tonight anchor/correspondent Leeza Gibbons became its main anchor of season 7.
In September 2002, Telepictures debuted a spin-off series, Celebrity Justice. The program, which was hosted and executive produced by Harvey Levin, had originated as a segment featured on Extra that focused on legal issues involving celebrities and high-profile court cases with little to no relation to the entertainment industry; Celebrity Justice ran for three seasons before being cancelled in 2005 (Levin would subsequently launch the celebrity news website TMZ and three years later, partner with Telepictures and Warner Bros. Television Distribution on a more successful entertainment newsmagazine venture spun off from the site, TMZ on TV).
Following Gibbons' departure in 2004, Extra switched to a two-anchor format for the weekday editions with Sugar Ray lead singer/founder Mark McGrath and correspondent Dayna Devon taking over as presenters. In September 2007, the production staff of Extra also began handling production responsibilities for CW Now, a weekly lifestyle newsmagazine that aired as part of The CW's Sunday night lineup; that program was cancelled due to low ratings in February 2008, after 18 episodes, however the show continues to produce interstitial segments for The CW for broadcast during the network's prime time programming.
On July 28, 2008, Telepictures announced that actor Mario Lopez (best known for his role as A.C. Slater on Saved by the Bell) would take over as solo host of the program; Dayna Devon was moved to a correspondent role, while Mark McGrath chose to leave the show to refocus back on his music career.
On September 13, 2010, the date of the program's 17th season premiere, Extra became the fourth American syndicated newsmagazine to begin broadcasting in high definition, after Entertainment Tonight, The Insider and Access Hollywood; the program also abandoned its longtime soundstage at Victory Studios in Glendale, California and moved its taping location to The Grove at Farmers Market, a well-known shopping and entertainment venue in Los Angeles.[2]
On August 4, 2011, Telepictures announced that Maria Menounos (who had previously served as a correspondent for rivals Entertainment Tonight and Access Hollywood) would join Extra as Lopez's co-host, as part of an overall deal with Warner Bros./Telepictures that included a role as a contributor for the CW talk show Dr. Drew's Lifechangers and development of television program projects.[3] On September 9, 2013, at the beginning of its 20th season, Extra moved its taping location to Universal Studios Hollywood; at that time, following Menounos' decision to leave Extra to become co-host of E! News, actress/producer Tracey Edmonds and SportsNation-turned-Fox Sports Live co-host Charissa Thompson were added to replace her as co-hosts.
On-air staff
Current on-air staff
Anchors
- Mario Lopez – weekday and weekend anchor (2008–present)
- Tracey Edmonds – co-host (2014–present)
- Charissa Thompson – co-host (2014–present)
- Renee Bargh – weekend co-anchor/correspondent (2010–present)
Correspondents
- A.J. Calloway – New York correspondent (2006–present)
- Michael Corbett – lifestyle, home and real estate correspondent (2000–present)
- Olivia Culpo – correspondent (2013–present)
- Ben Lyons – correspondent (2012–present)
- Jerry Penacoli – correspondent/announcer (2001–present)
- Terri Seymour – correspondent (2004–present)
Former on-air staff
- Dave Nemeth - weekday anchor/correspondent (1994-1996; now at Fox 13 in Utah)
- Doug Bruckner – correspondent (1999–2004)
- Jamie Colby – correspondent (1999)
- Adrianna Costa – correspondent (2010–2013)
- Idalis DeLeon – correspondent (2003)
- Dayna Devon – anchor/correspondent (1999–2009)
- Leeza Gibbons – anchor/correspondent (2000–2003, now co-host of America Now)
- Bo Griffin – correspondent (2001; deceased)
- Samantha Harris – weekend anchor/correspondent (2003–2004; later at E! News, The Insider and Entertainment Tonight)
- Ben Patrick Johnson – senior correspondent (1994–1995)
- Jon Kelley – weekend anchor/correspondent (2000–2006, now at KNTV-TV in San Francisco)
- Sean Kenniff – medical correspondent (2000–2001; later at WFOR-TV in Miami)
- Holly Madison – Las Vegas insider (2011)
- Jeannie Mai – weekend anchor/correspondent (2009–2010; now host of How Do I Look? and co-host of The Real)
- Mark McGrath – anchor/correspondent (2004–2008; later host of Don't Forget the Lyrics)
- Maria Menounos – weekday co-anchor (2011–2014)
- Terry Murphy – correspondent (2003–2004)
- Arthel Neville – weekday anchor/correspondent (1994–1996; now at Fox News Channel)
- Barry Nolan – correspondent (2000–2004)
- Maureen O'Boyle – anchor/correspondent (1997–2000; now evening anchor at WBTV-TV in Charlotte)
- Tanika Ray – weekend anchor/correspondent (2004–2009; later at TV Guide Network; now host of HGTV Design Star)
- Lauren Sánchez – weekend anchor/correspondent (1997–2000, 2009–2010)
- Gina Silva – correspondent (1997–2000)
- Tava Smiley – correspondent (2003–2004)
- Alison Waite – Las Vegas insider (2010)
Production
Extra employs a staff of about 150 people, consisting of hosts and correspondents presenting story packages, and editors, producers, library staff and film crews who produce and compile the program. The program is taped at Universal Studios Hollywood each Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time, and is taped before a live audience, allowing fans to interact with the show's hosts and see live appearances from actors, musicians, athletes and newsmakers interviewed at the theme park for the program.[4]Extra also takes a unique approach in keeping its viewers in the loop by taking them on coast-to-coast trips each edition, from Hollywood to Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas to its studio at the H&M Times Square store in New York City.[4] The program won its first Emmy Award in 2014, tying with Entertainment Tonight for "Best Entertainment News Program".
International carriage
Only the weekday editions of the program are broadcast outside the U.S.; the 44-minute weekend edition is only distributed domestically.
- In Canada, the weekday editions of the program airs on a day-behind basis on Omni Television after 1:00 a.m., with a rebroadcast after 5:00 a.m.
- In Australia, the weekday editions of Extra began airing on the Nine Network on July 2, 2012, replacing Entertainment Tonight after Nine declined to renew its contract to air that program. Extra currently airs at 3:00 p.m. weekdays on Go!, and is rebroadcast after midnight on both Nine and Go!.
References
- ↑ "'Extra': Warner Bros. Renames TV Magazine". Chicago Sun-Times. Hollinger International. May 16, 1994. Retrieved March 16, 2011 – via HighBeam Research.
- ↑ "About Extra". Extra. Warner Bros. Television.
- ↑ Paige Albaniak (August 4, 2011). "Menounos to Co-Host 'Extra'". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media.
- 1 2 "About". Extra. Warner Bros. Television.