Lawrence O’Donnell Follows MSNBC Prime Time Formula, With His Own Unique Twist
Lawrence O’Donnell‘s new 10pmET MSNBC show, The Last Word, debuted last night, and the first live 10pmET show on the network felt like a smooth transition to what currently exists in the two hours before.
While the first night consisted of mainly Joe Biden and Keith Olbermann, the future guest list and tone give an indication of the unique broadcast O’Donnell hopes to put together each night.
The Biden exclusive was lengthy, pre-taped and long on policy – and split into two segments. In between, the 8pmET host Keith Olbermann appeared live in studio (with jacket off, tie undone). Shifting from anchor to pundit, Olbermann responded to part one of the Biden interview. “The Democrat and liberal bases have been somewhat responsible for this disconnect with the White House but the White House has been just as responsible for it, and it’s little things like that that really tell the tale unfortunately,” he said.
Keith was back again after the commercial, name-dropping Kevin Costner through another policy-heavy segment. In total, it took 47 minutes before anything not Biden or Olbermann happened on the show. But when it did, it was interesting. In a segment titled “Rewrite,” (video below) O’Donnell chided Steny Hoyer (notable – a somewhat “Worst Person”-ish segment aimed at a Democrat) for his take on the appropriateness of Stephen Colbert testifying Friday. After introducing the segment, he told the audience what Hoyer should have said. It could have gone toward the “Special Comment” uber-serious realm. Instead, after about a minute, O’Donnell trailed off: “Blah, blah, blah.” Point being – you get the idea.
The upcoming guest list should provide for some entertaining moments. Tonight, Charlie Crist and Levi Johnston, tomorrow there’s David Axelrod and Bob Woodward and Thursday there’s Meghan McCain and Michael Bloomberg. For those counting at home – two former Republicans turned independents, one Republican, one Democrat an author and a Playgirl cover model.
Besides some major prompter issues going to the first break, O’Donnell seemed comfortable and in his element. He has also bit the bullet and joined Twitter – where he thanked the “Queen of 10pm” last night, Greta Van Susteren, for sending over a bottle of wine. Will O’Donnell be the king? Not yet – but the streamlined MSNBC prime time schedule can only serve to boost overall ratings as CNN shuffles their line-up going into 2011.
Here’s the “Rewrite” segment:
