An aftershow or after-show is a genre of television talk show whose topic is another television program. An aftershow is typically broadcast immediately after a new episode of its corresponding program, to help retain the audience, and to provide additional discussion and content related to the program (such as analysis and behind-the-scenes material). Aftershows may also include guest appearances by a show's staff or cast, and emphasize viewer contributions. A similar, earlier concept in sports broadcasting is the post-game show.
An aftershow's typical format, pioneered by Howard Stern's The Wrap-Up Show on Sirius Satellite Radio in 2006, is two or more people discussing a just-aired episode. This is sometimes accompanied by bonus material from the series, or special guests such as actors or creative staff.[1] TV channels see aftershows as a cheap way to provide more content for avid fans of popular series, as a venue for interacting with fans directly, and to help provide additional context and analysis to the series' narrative and themes. Aftershows can also help a channel retain viewers after an episode airs.
Some aftershows—particularly those involving reality series—focus more on behind the scenes material, as well as interviews with eliminated and former contestants. Some of these examples, including American Idol Extra,[2] Britain's Got More Talent,[3] ,[4] and The Xtra Factor,[5] primarily aired on a sister channel to the network that carried the main program (such as BBC Two, ITV2, and the Fox Reality Channel). For its former coverage of the Indian Premier League in cricket, Sony Pictures Networks aired Extraaa Innings T20—which combined the aftershow concept with elements of a traditional sports post-game show by featuring both match analysis and entertainment segments such as celebrity interviews.[6] [7] The Channel 4 talk show The Last Leg with Adam Hills was originally conceived as an aftershow for its coverage of the 2012 Summer Paralympics,[8] [9] but proved successful enough to be renewed as a standalone series.[10]
MTV Canada's The After Show was cited by the Toronto Star as an early predecessor to the aftershow format adopted in North America. The show was produced to accompany its airings of MTV's Laguna Beach, due to CRTC licensing requirements regarding the provision of Canadian content and talk show programming (the latter stemming from the service's early history in a previous format, TalkTV).[11] The show gained a steady following: MTV Canada began producing the show in front of a studio audience for the Laguna Beach finale, resulting in "thousands" of fans lining up outside of the channel's Toronto studio for a chance to attend. The format was extended to its sister series The Hills, and was later picked up to air on the U.S. MTV channel as well.[12]
In 2009, Bravo premiered Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, a late-night talk show which primarily discusses Bravo's reality programming, and features viewer contributions such as questions. It also discusses other facets and headlines in popular culture, and expanded from a weekly to weeknight scheduling in 2011.[13] [14]
Following the example of Talking Dead, U.S. entertainment channels began to add aftershows to their most popular scripted series in the 2010s. Embassy Row—the Sony Pictures Television-owned studio who produces Talking Dead, would be commissioned by other networks for their some of their own aftershows, such as Shark After Dark Live (which it produced for Discovery's Shark Week event).[15] In 2012, Maria Menounos launched AfterBuzz TV, a network of post-show podcasts devoted to various television series.[16]
| Title | Program(s) discussed | First aired | Last aired | Channel | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The After Show | Various reality series | 2010 | MTV | ||||
| Doctor Who Confidential | Doctor Who | 2005 | 2011 | BBC Three | |||
| Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen | Various reality series | 2009 | present | Bravo | |||
| RuPaul's Drag Race | 2010 | present | Logo TV (2010–2014) | Began with season 2 | |||
| YouTube (2015–2017) | |||||||
| VH1 (2018–present) | |||||||
| Thronecast | Game of Thrones | 2011 | 2019 | Sky Atlantic | |||
| Talking Dead | The Walking Dead Fear the Walking Dead | 2011 | present | AMC | Began with season 2 for both series | [17] | |
| Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. | 2013 | 2014 | ABC.com | Only the first season. | [18] | ||
| Talking Bad | Breaking Bad | 2013 | 2013 | AMC | Only for final eight episodes of the series | [19] | |
| Wolf Watch | Teen Wolf | 2013 | 2015 | MTV | Only from the second half of Season 3 to some episodes in the first half of Season 5. | ||
| Anarchy Afterword | Sons of Anarchy | 2013 | 2014 | FX | Online web series; for seasons 6 and 7 | [20] | |
| Rebels Recon | Star Wars Rebels | 2014 | 2018 | Disney XD | Online web series for entire show | ||
| After the Black | Orphan Black | 2015 | 2017 | Space / BBC America | Began with season 3 | [21] [22] | |
| Talking Saul | Better Call Saul | 2016 | 2022 | AMC | Only for season 2-3 (for premiere and finale episodes only) and season 6 (two episodes) | [23] | |
| After the Thrones | Game of Thrones | 2016 | 2016 | HBO | For season 6 only | [24] | |
| Talking Preacher | Preacher | 2016 | 2017 | AMC | Only for premiere and finale episodes | [25] | |
| Hacking Robot | Mr. Robot | 2016 | 2019 | USA Network | Began with season 2; only for premiere and finale episodes | [26] | |
| Mr. Robot Digital After Show | The Verge / USA Network | Began with season 2; online only | [27] | ||||
| Raw Talk | Monday Night Raw | 2016 | present | WWE Network | |||
| WWE Talking Smack | SmackDown | 2016 | Present | WWE Network | Only for one week, aired on FS1 on October 23, 2020. | ||
| After Trek | 2017 | 2018 | CBS All Access | Only for season 1 | |||
| The Ready Room | 2019 | Present | CBS All Access / Paramount+ | Began with season 2 | |||
| Began with season 1; only for premiere and finale episodes with occasional "midseason specials" | |||||||
| Began with season 1; bonus episode aired during post season 1 hiatus | [28] | ||||||
| Began with season 1; only for premiere and finale episodes | |||||||
| Began with season 1; bonus episode aired prior to season 2 | |||||||
| Beyond the Reasons | 13 Reasons Why | 2017 | 2019 | Netflix | One episode per season. | ||
| Beyond Stranger Things | Stranger Things | 2017 | 2017 | Netflix | Only for season 2 | [29] | |
| Crisis Aftermath | Arrowverse | 2019 | 2019 | The CW | |||
| Look Hooo's Talking | The Owl House | 2020 | 2020 | Disney Channel | Online web series for first ten episodes | ||
| 2021 | Present | Netflix | [30] | ||||
| One Killer Question | Only Murders in the Building | 2023 | Present | Hulu | |||
| Australian Survivor: Talking Tribal | Australian Survivor | 2023 | Present | Network 10 |
Following the premiere of anime spoof Perfect Hair Forever in 2004, Adult Swim aired a Space Ghost Coast to Coast short—dubbed "Anime Talk Show", and also referred to as "Adult Swim Brain Trust"—in which Space Ghost attempts to conduct an aftershow discussion with Meatwad (of Aqua Teen Hunger Force), Early Cuyler (ofSquidbillies), and Sharko (of Sealab 2021). However, despite Space Ghost's repeated attempts to get them to talk about the show, the panel largely discusses the then-upcoming Squidbillies instead.
British comedian Peter Kay's 2008 reality television satire Britain's Got the Pop Factor... and Possibly a New Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly on Ice featured an "aftershow" as an epilogue, Peter Kay's Britain's Got an Extra Pop Factor and Then Some 2 + 1.[31]
In 2015, when CBS aired reruns of its primetime dramas to fill the former timeslot of Late Show with David Letterman until the premiere of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Late Late Show with James Corden satirized the format with cold open sketches depicting aftershows such as Talking Mentalist and Talking Hawaii Five-0. One sketch also featured a metaparody, Talking Talking Mentalist—an aftershow for Talking Mentalist hosted by Corden's bandleader Reggie Watts.[32] [33]
The 2019 Fox comedy What Just Happened??! with Fred Savage is framed as an aftershow for an in-universe drama series entitled The Flare.[34] Its season (and ultimately, series) finale featured Savage's character dealing with the cancellation of The Flare, and having to use his show to promote the in-universe teen drama Havenbrook.[35]