How does Regis Philbin do it? There he is, the host of yet another breakout TV hit in “America’s Got Talent,” just as he did seven summers ago when he rode “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” to the Nielsen stratosphere.
While ABC’s “Idol” knockoff “The One” debuted last week to horrible ratings, “America’s Got Talent” is sitting high atop the charts (it airs 7 p.m. CT Wednesday with a results show 8 p.m. Thursday on NBC, KSHB-41).
Network entertainment chief Kevin Reilly said Friday that “Talent” will begin a second season in January. That means more travel and more work for the ageless Philbin, who’s now putting in only four days a week at “Live with Regis and Kelly.”
The new gig couldn’t be a better fit for his one-sane-man routine, which critics saw on display at an NBC session Friday. When David Hasselhoff, part of the “Talent” judging trio, began carrying on too long about his buzzer, to the point where no one was sure he was referring to the thing he uses to vote off contestants, Philbin jumped in.
“I wish I had a buzzer,” he said. That got a big laugh, and the subject changed.
Herding bizarre acts on and off stage while managing three unruly judges should demand a larger skill set than Ryan Seacrest’s. But it’s no sweat if you’re the guy they call Reege.
“There’s nothing hard about it,” Philbin declared. “I think it’s a joy to do.”
Also overheard in Pasadena during NBC’s presentations:
“Can I just say, for superstitious reasons, I’m extremely excited that I’m not in the pilot? I wasn’t in the pilot of ‘Felicity.’ I wasn’t in the pilot of ‘Alias.’ I was in the pilot of ‘Lost’ — and then I got eaten.” — Greg Grunberg, former “Felicity” and “Alias” regular, who was added late to the cast of “Heroes.” (He’ll appear in the revised two-hour pilot, though.)
“You know, if there’s a negative area, I never like to go there. If there’s something that might embarrass the Academy or NBC or television, in general, I usually stay clear. (Pause) Yes, we’ll be talking about it.” — Emmy Awards host Conan O’Brien, on whether he’ll bring up the TV academy’s PR debacle during the Aug. 27 telecast. The academy tried to improve the nominations process, but critical darlings like Hugh Laurie and Lauren Graham were left off the ballot.
“Oh, please. Are you kidding? Chris, finally. Hello? After seven years on a show, he gets an Emmy nomination, which I believe is unprecedented.” — Dick Wolf, creator of “Law & Order,” one of the rare voices to applaud the Emmy changes. Christopher Meloni earned a nod for “Law & Order: SVU.”
“A good friend of mine said, after Dan left, after we lost Peter, ‘That you are the veteran of this group of three is like saying the Empire State Building is the tallest building on the New York City skyline. It is factually true, but it’s for all the wrong reasons.’ ” — NBC’s Brian Williams, on what it means to him to be TV’s longest-serving nightly news anchor.
“We’re about the same height, so I really don’t think he’s going to come talk to me. If I were about a foot shorter, I’m sure there would be a confrontation of some sort.” — MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann, on why he’s not scared of Fox’s Bill O’Reilly, whom he mocks on his show “Countdown.”
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