'This American Life' to be simulcast for first time by cinemas

By George Lang

Published: April 25, 2008

With its vivid details, sharp humor and empathetic storytelling style, Ira Glass' "This American Life” became one of the most popular shows on public radio, and made a smooth transition to television when it broadcast six half-hour episodes last year on Showtime.

Now, with a first-time live simulcast to movie theaters around the country, "This American Life — Live” brings Glass to his radio and television public. This special presentation, in which Glass will merge elements of the radio series and the Showtime program's second season, will be shown live at 7 p.m. Thursday at Cinemark Tinseltown, 6001 N Martin Luther King Ave.

"A lot of the people who listen to our radio show still have not seen the television show — in fact, most of the people who hear the radio show still haven't seen it,” said Glass during a recent teleconference. "We heard about these people who broadcast the Metropolitan Opera into movie theaters every three or four weeks, and it just seemed like an interesting thing to try with our stations.”

Glass said "This American Life — Live” could help bridge the chasm between those who have been steadfastly faithful to the audio version and the new Glass fans who, thanks to Showtime, can put a face with the voice. He said he also thinks the simulcast is a great way to connect with the radio stations that have broadcast the program since it debuted in 1995.

"We're on 500 public radio stations, and I think that many of them feel like, well, what do they get out of the fact that we're doing a television show, other than more reruns from us while we're off doing the television show?” he said. "So, we thought it would be good for them and good for our relations with them if we could actually do an event with our stations.”

"This American Life” made its mark by centering its hour-long radio shows on universal themes. One recent program, "Mistakes Were Made,” told stories about the elusive nature of sincere apologies, whether they come from a toddler or from a politician. The show can be slyly funny when centered on monologues by David Sedaris, Sarah Vowell, John Hodgeman or David Rakoff, or they can be cathartic when dealing with human matters of living and dying.

Although "This American Life” began its successful television run last year, Glass started shopping a concept for the visual version in the late-'90s, when he made pitches to several networks. Glass said it was not the right time or situation, and network requirements did not mesh with the show's aesthetic.

"I mean, truthfully, we went around in 1999 and we got offers from two networks — broadcast networks, not even cable networks,” Glass said. "And at some point as we talked about ‘What will this be?' we realized that we just weren't ready. We realized that we didn't understand how to do it as a TV series. And the level of commitment that those networks were asking for was sort of onerous and might have actually required us to shut down the radio show completely.”

Ultimately, the networks in question required a large number of episodes per year, and Glass wanted to protect what had become an important experience for so many listeners.

"It seemed like taking a huge risk on something we might not know how to do and might not like doing,” he said.

Glass said that in late 2005, Showtime came back with another offer and gave the show's producers a great deal of artistic and structural freedom. The series is now under contract to produce 30 shows over the next four years, and Glass said the network granted the same level of creative freedom for the television program that he enjoys on the radio version.

"They totally had our number,” he said.

Karen Holp, general manager at KGOU 105.7/106.3 FM, the public radio station that carries "This American Life” at noon Saturdays, said she is looking forward to seeing "TAL — Live” and that the show has helped reshape how radio producers think about their craft.

"For me, it's one of the many times I have ‘driveway moments,'” Holp said, referring to the public radio phenomenon of listeners sitting in their cars, waiting for a story to end before turning off the ignition.

"He (Glass) has tapped a storytelling style that really highlights for me the power of the audio medium,” she said. "I don't know how to describe it, but his storytelling style has revolutionized radio producers, including some of the things we do here at KGOU.”

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