In front of a live studio audience: production design and liveness in celebrity chat shows

Geraint D'Arcy

doi:10.1177/17496020261449050

In front of a live studio audience: production design and liveness in celebrity chat shows

Geraint D'Arcy

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

This paper analyses the spatial and aesthetic use of a live studio audience as an element of design in celebrity chat shows. It establishes an aesthetic framework of un-scripted television formats using Richard Levin’s 1961 book Television by Design, identifying abstraction and stylisation as fundamental to shaping the audience and performance spaces of contemporary chat show formats. With close analysis of Wogan (1983-1991) and The Graham Norton Show (2007-2026), the categories of space, the inclusion of a studio audience, their performative functions, and their live aesthetics are established as an integral element to the design of the show format in an era of fragmented, on-demand content.

Original language	English
Journal	Critical Studies in Television
Early online date	28 Apr 2026
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/17496020261449050
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 28 Apr 2026

Keywords

set design
space
theatricality

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10.1177/17496020261449050Licence: CC BY-NC

d-arcy-2026-in-front-of-a-live-studio-audience-production-design-and-liveness-in-celebrity-chat-showsFinal published version, 1.42 MBLicence: CC BY-NC

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In front of a live studio audience: production design and liveness in celebrity chat shows

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