The Late Show

The Late Show (1989–1995) is a British television arts magazine programme that was broadcast on BBC2 weeknights at 11.15pm—directly after Newsnight—often referred to as the "graveyard slot" in terms of television scheduling. Details The programme was commissioned by BBC2 Controller Alan Yentob, who had a background in serious arts documentaries, but the production team – led by Michael Jackson – were mostly from youth programming backgrounds including Network 7. The programme combined a number of format elements from earlier BBC arts magazine programmes such as Monitor and Late Night Line-Up. Once a week, during the first two series, the slot featured a round-table discussion hosted by Clive James on Friday nights. With the cancellation of The Old Grey Whistle Test, The Late Show featured music performances, live or pre-recorded, including Van Morrison, Leonard Cohen, Public Enemy, Joni Mitchell, The Stone Roses, Dick Dale, The Cramps, The Smashing Pumpkins, The Fall, R.E.M., Little Village, Jane's Addiction and Jeff Buckley. At the time, The Late Show came under the now closed Music and Arts Department of BBC Television, which also produced Omnibus and Arena. The forty and sometimes fifty-minute programmes were presented mostly live from a bare black set in Lime Grove Studio D until 14 June 1991, when it transferred to BBC Television Centre in White City, west London. The regular format was for a single presenter to provide links for a number of packaged features and interviews or panel discussion in the studio. Some editions were given over to in-depth coverage of a single topic, for example a whole programme on National Poetry Day. The 1989–1995 revival of Face to Face, this time presented by Jeremy Isaacs, was also an element of the programme.