Tooning Out the News

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Tooning Out the News
File:Tooning Out the News banner.png
Genre
Created by
Voices of
  • R.J. Fried
  • Maureen Monahan
  • Jack Bensinger
  • Naima Pearce
  • Ike Ufomadu
  • Addison Anderson
  • Simone Norman
  • Jeremy Bent
  • Zach Smilovitz
Narrated by Mitch Lewis
Theme music composer Tom Polce
Country of origin United States
Original language(s)
  • English
No. of seasons 3
No. of episodes 246
Production
Executive producer(s)
  • Stephen Colbert
  • Chris Licht
  • R. J. Fried
  • Tim Luecke
Producer(s)
  • Zach Smilovitz
  • Mike Leech
  • Nicole Savini
  • Melanie Loebig
  • Tiffany Pollard
  • Jonathan van Halem
Editor(s)
  • Thomas Berkley
  • Jesse Millward
  • Katey Spinner
  • Melissa Weiss
  • Julie Greiner
Running time
  • 7-44 min. (seasons 1-2)
  • 21 min. (seasons 3)
Production company(s)
Release
Original network
Original release April 7, 2020 (2020-04-07) –
present
Chronology
Related shows
External links
[{{#property:P856}} Website]

Stephen Colbert Presents Tooning Out the News (TOTN) is an American live-action/animated satirical news television program created and executive produced by comedian and The Late Show host Stephen Colbert, Chris Licht, R. J. Fried and Tim Luecke. The series premiered on CBS All Access (now Paramount+) on April 7, 2020.

From August 18–20, 2020, the program covered the 2020 Democratic National Convention.[1] It also covered the 2020 Republican National Convention from August 26–28, 2020.[2] From November 1–3, 2020, the program also covered the 2020 United States presidential election. The first season ended on December 11, 2020.

In March 2021, it was announced that the series had been renewed for a second season starting with an exclusive half-hour special on March 4, 2021, which was followed by a full premiere on March 9, 2021. Season 2 added two new segments: "The Establishment with Tory Hughes" and "Smart Talk Tonight."[3] On April 28, 2021, the program also covered the 2021 joint session of the United States Congress. On July 23, 2021, the program made an appearance with special coverage during Paramount+'s "Peak Animation" panel at 2021 Comic-Con@Home. On October 4, 2021, it was announced that the regular episodes would expand to a half-hour starting on October 8, 2021, and the series would switch to a weekly format. The second season ended on November 12, 2021.

On May 18, 2022, it was announced that the series would move to Comedy Central for a third season renewal consisting of 13 episodes, which premiered on October 5.[4] On November 9, the program also covered the 2022 United States midterm elections. In January 2023, it was announced that the series would return with the final three episodes of the third season on January 18. On February 7, it was announced that the third season was expanded with twelve additional episodes, including a special coverage based on the 2023 State of the Union Address.[5]

Description

Describing itself as an animated news program, Tooning Out the News combines live-action and animation and focuses on topical news satire form from real-life news stories as well as lampooning current events, political issues, media coverages, social commentaries, pop culture topics, and often uses self-reflexive humor.

The first season consisted of four main segments, "Big News with James Smartwood," "Inside The Hill," "Hot Take," and "Virtue Signal," which resemble shows seen on cable news channels, plus added interstitial vignettes covering other stories not mentioned in the main segments. Some interstitial vignettes are previewed on The Late Show. The second season added two new segments, "The Establishment with Tory Hughes" and "Smart Talk Tonight." Both "The Establishment with Tory Hughes" and the vignettes were dropped in the third season.

Three of the main segments originally debut on Paramount+ Tuesday through Thursday (the morning after a new The Late Show with Stephen Colbert episode), with the fourth, plus a compilation "Week in Review" show containing all four plus vignettes are released every Friday. Regular episodes expanded to a half-hour starting on October 8, 2021, and the series would switch to a weekly format. Both half-hour episodes are released every Friday.[6] The third season airs on Comedy Central every Wednesday, following after The Daily Show and runs for 25 episodes.[1]

Cast and characters

Main

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  • R.J. Fried as James Smartwood
  • Maureen Monahan as Kylie Weaver/Sarah Sabo/Nicole Vance
  • Jack Bensinger as Tyler Templeton
  • Naima Pearce as Tory Hughes
  • Ike Ufomadu as Dr. Ike Bloom
  • Addison Anderson as Rich Ballard/Austin Sparks
  • Simone Norman as Eleanor Palmer
  • Jeremy Bent as Teddy Hopper/Jonathan Keene
  • Zach Smilovitz as James Smartwood Jr.

Recurring

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  • Laurel Zoff Pelon as Bonnie Davis
  • Neil D'Astolfo as Peter Womack/Troy Lawson
  • Alise Morales as Lila Moreno
  • Nathan Min as Brian Min
  • Otter Lee as Otter Lin
  • Keisha Zollar as Susan Shephard
  • Kennedy Baldwin as Morgan Herbert Walker
  • Graham Techler as Kenneth Parsons
  • Moujan Zolfaghari as Catherine Nadaan
  • Steph Cook as Charlotte Fitzgerald
  • Allison Reese as Lydia Parker
  • Jeremy Levick as Jeremy Levy-Levin
  • Rajat Suresh as Rajat Mehta
  • Mitch Lewis as Announcer

Episodes

Season Episodes Originally released
First released Last released Network

History

The series was set to premiere on March 16, 2020, but production was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7] The series debuted on April 7, 2020, instead, after production continued via remote work, with animators and showrunner RJ Fried, who has also produced The Late Show and Showtime animated series Our Cartoon President, working via Zoom and Slack.[8][9]

Tooning Out The News received mainstream critical acclaim and has recently gained mixed to positive reviews from critics. The series also has been nominated for numerous awards, including a Critics' Choice Award for Best Short Form Series,[10] a Producers Guild of America Awards for Outstanding Short-Form Program, a Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Comedy-Variety Talk Series and two Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Form Comedy, Drama or Variety Series, but eventually lost to Carpool Karaoke: The Series.[11] It was also won Technical Achievement Video at 2022 Webby People's Voice Award.

On October 4, 2021, it was announced that the regular episodes would expand to a half-hour starting on October 8, 2021, and the series would switch to a weekly format.[6] On May 18, 2022, it was announced that the series would move to Comedy Central as part of its adult animation push. Paramount+ will still simultaneously serve as its streaming home.[12]

On July 23, 2022, senior researcher Jonathan van Halem was offered the role of News Producer, making him the first person of Dutch descent to hold the position in the show's three-season history.[13]

On September 29, 2022, the animation staff at Tooning Out the News have publicly voted overwhelmingly to join a union with The Animation Guild, IATSE Local 839, becoming the second such group of animation workers and production staff in New York to voted in favor of unionizing. At the same time, the guild is generally submitting a letter for voluntary recognition to CBS Eye Animation Productions, an animation studio division of CBS Studios.

Production

The concept of the show inspired by an idea to parody the popular cable news format took shape with short clips featuring animated cartoon pundits on The Late Show, where animated anchors are interviewed with a range of guests while working on a parallel track to produce the week’s segments. Originally, the show's production used motion capture to "record" the actors' performances on the show, after converting David Letterman's old personal screening room at the Ed Sullivan Theater as a control room.[14]

After the pandemic forced animators to work from home, they switched to remote production, shipping equipment to animator's houses and using Adobe Character Animator, to animate the show's virtual hosts, which allow guests to interact with the show’s animated hosts and panelists in real-time. While the series usually takes months to produce, an episode of Tooning Out the News is turned around a few days before airtime for the concept to stay current, with the topical productions and real-time animation works done remotely.

The pandemic also forced producers to find a remote solution for guests, who were set to be filmed in the studio. Because the show's back-and-forth banter required low latency, producers partnered with The Video Call Center to handle the acquisition and quality control of guest connections.[15] The VCC developed a custom process that enables the show’s animated hosts and correspondents to have topical, live, natural conversations with newsmakers and journalists.[16]

Notable guests

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References

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  13. ↑ https://www.imdb.com/name/nm11571316/
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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External links

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