CHICAGOAN AND FORMER FCC chair Newton Minow famously characterized television as a “vast wasteland,” but there’s plenty of life on the prairie. Shows have been made here since TV’s beginnings, from the first soap opera (These Are My Children, in 1949) to Kukla, Fran and Ollie toUnsolved Mysteries to Prison Break.
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
There is, however, a lot of made-in-Chicago TV filling the national airwaves. Well-known exports include the winner-and-still-champ of the talk show genre, The Oprah Winfrey Show, which sprang from Oprah’s gig as host of AM Chicago on the ABC affiliate Channel Seven in 1984. Her show effectively picked up where Phil Donahue, who filmed his groundbreaking talk show here from 1974 to 1985 before moving to New York, left off. Buena Vista’sEbert & Roeper started out in 1975—with the Tribune’s late Gene Siskel, not Richard Roeper, sharing the aisle seats with Sun-Times movie critic Roger Ebert—as Opening Soon at a Theater Near You, a monthly show on public station WTTW.
Other syndicated shows currently produced here include The Jerry Springer Show and Judge Mathis. WTTW produces the concert seriesSoundstage, which was resurrected recently after originally running from 1974 to 1985, and Mexico—One Plate at a Time, starring Frontera Grill chef Rick Bayless.
Sports Center”), which mixes Chicago-based improv actors and real-life celebrities (it will air in many markets after the new NBC Sunday Night Football), and The Final Report, a National Geographic program presenting new information about old news stories.
Semaphore Media A producer of documentary films, this company has gotten busy in the last few years franchising Check, Please!, the extremely popular local restaurantreview show that it coproduces with WTTW. A San Francisco version is in its second season, a show in LA is currently in development, and other major cities may be on their way.
How to Get on TV
THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW Call the audience reservation line (312-591- 9222) for tickets or check at oprah.com to see about being a guest. This page also has information about last-minute e-mail reservations.
THE JERRY SPRINGER SHOW For tickets call 312-321-5365, fill out the application at jerryspringertv.com or write the show at 454 N. Columbus Dr., Chicago, IL 60611. Check the Web site for a list of upcoming episodes and phone numbers if you’re interested in being a guest.
JUDGE MATHIS Call 866-362-8447 for tickets or 888-837-3428 to get on the show.
CHIC-A-GO-GO Anybody’s welcome, just “don’t come drunk or naked.” Check roctober.com for taping times or e-mail ratso@roctober.com or chiclist@roctober.com to get on the mailing list. Or write to 1507 E. 53rd St. #617, Chicago, IL 60615. To get your band on, e-mail booking@roctober.com and “be patient.”
CHECK, PLEASE! Application at wttw.com.
SOUNDSTAGE Call 773-279-2111 or check wttw.com. Tickets are given away as premiums with membership purchases and occasionally on local radio stations.
CAN TV If you have an existing show, call 312-738-1400 for a submissions packet. If you want to create a show, call 312-738-1400 or see “video production” under the “services” menu at cantv.org for orientation meetings, the required first step. | EMT
MPI Media A very early player in the video distribution market, this Orland Park company draws on its extensive film library for its videos and DVDs. Best known for producing films like Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer and distributing Faces of Death and the “Superbowl Shuffle” video, MPI also produces documentaries shown on PBS, including biographies of Jackie Gleason, the Carpenters, and Petula Clark and an investigation of the Zapruder film shown on the History Channel.
