Bestselling author and nationally syndicated radio talkshow host Mitch Albom will join MSNBC’s daytime lineup beginning Jan. 29.
“The Mitch Albom Show,” a live talk-radio show broadcast nationwide on ABC Radio Networks, will simulcast on MSNBC weekdays from 3 to 5 p.m. ET.
“Mitch is an award-winning journalist and a real Renaissance man, with a unique perspective on current events,” said MSNBC veep and general manager Erik Sorenson.
The program, in which Albom will be joined by his co-hosts Ken Brown and Rachel Nevada, consists of interviews with newsmakers and celebrities.
MSNBC will also broadcast several news updates from its Secaucus headquarters throughout the show. “MSNBC Live” will continue to air from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Albom’s show originates from Detroit, but MSNBC plans to build sets in New York and L.A. “We’ll be able to have guests join us in different studios throughout the country,” Albom told Daily Variety. “That enhances our guest base.”
Developing drama
Albom is also developing an hourlong drama for CBS to which Gil Bellows (“Ally McBeal”) is attached to play the lead. Eye has given a premium script order to the project, to be produced by DreamWorks Television and Gary David Goldberg’s UBU Prods. The show is being targeted for the 2001-02 season (Daily Variety, Sept. 9).
Pointing to the fact that his ABC-owned radio show will air on an NBC-owned cable network and that his drama series is for CBS, Albom said, “I’m the Rainbow Coalition. I’m making peace among the networks.”
Albom’s mega-bestseller “Tuesdays With Morrie” was adapted into an ABC telepic.
