Nick Cannon comes out firing as talk show host
Nick Cannon is back. Again.
The perennial TV personality has yet another outlet on the small screen, a new syndicated talk show, “Nick Cannon” (check local listings). The host of “The Masked Singer” is now a talk show host, not exactly a stretch considering his long resumé.
Yet while Cannon slides pretty comfortably into the role of daytime talkshow host, it’s worth asking whether he adds anything to the current roster, which includes the “Kelly Clarkson Show,” “Wendy Williams” and more.
After Monday’s opening episode, it doesn’t appear as if “Cannon” will be essential viewing for many, although if you are a big fan of Cannon, you surely will like this version of the celebrity, in which he turns his quirks and personality up to 11.
Cannon’s show has a casual vibe, with his masked audience shouting “Hey, Nick!” along with his theme song – which he wrote and sings, with the help of some of his kids – after every commercial break.
The premiere opened with a few introductory segments, including a series of remote well-wishes from Canon’s famous friends such as “Saturday Night Live” star Kenan Thompson, Terry Crews and Tyra Banks, and a tour of the studio, which includes a shoe wall, a candy bar and a fire pole (the candy bar might explain Cannon’s bouncing-off-the-walls energy). These were followed by a prank on Kevin Hart (Cannon’s self-described best “frenemy”) and a feel-good segment in which Cannon brought his “gimme-abreak” bus, complete with massage therapists and champagne, to help a family of nurses who have been working hard during the pandemic. A sing-along in the episode’s final minutes with Cannon at the piano closed out the hour.
The show doesn’t appear to have opening day jitters like many debuting talk shows. Cannon is a seasoned broadcaster who is instantly comfortable on camera, no matter what he’s hosting. But perhaps the whole concept of the talk show needed a bit more practice and refinement before it went to air. The pre-interview segments – from the “damn cam” to “Nick’s pic of the day” – felt like a strobe light of content. Short, loud and sporadic, Cannon rushed through his bits so fast it seemed unlikely he’d have enough material to cover the show’s hourlong run time.
His interview with Hart suffered because the two are a bit too friendly and giggly together (a problem overly chummy hosts such as Jimmy Fallon also have). A lot of the better moments from the episodes were in prerecorded segments that were a little less frenetic and better paced. An interview in a subsequent episode with “The Daily Show” comedian Roy Wood Jr. felt more natural and informative.
Whether “Cannon” will be a celebrity talk show that stands the test of time or is more of a Kris Jenner-style flash in the pan is unknown. But considering how Cannon has weathered setbacks and controversies over hiscareer and continued working, it’s unlikely this show will be the last we see of him, hit or not.