E! Debuts Interactive Pop Culture Talk Show
The show, Hello Ross, incorporated YouTube footage, tweets, live chats, and hashtags in its premiere on September 6.
The show, Hello Ross, incorporated YouTube footage, tweets, live chats, and hashtags in its premiere on September 6.
As rumors swirl that reality TV matriarch Kris Jenner’s Fox talk show has been canceled, another E! personality is getting a shot at a talk show that is decidedly more plebeian.
Hello Ross, which pop culture network E! dubs an “interactive talk show,” pushes the idea of audience and viewer as collaborator, pulling in plenty of digital content in order to do so.
The Ross of the title is Ross Mathews, a one-time intern for The Tonight Show turned TV personality on E! shows like Chelsea Lately.
“Hello Ross is the new weekly fan destination where the intersections of celebrity gossip and pop culture collide, hosted by the world’s biggest super fan himself, [Mathews]. Whether you are watching at home or sitting front row in the studio audience, Hello Ross will give everyone a unique viewpoint into the latest Hollywood news with the ability to share their opinion via Facebook and Twitter on all the latest in pop culture, debate the most buzzworthy topics, and come face to face with their favorite celebrities,” E! says in a press release. “This highly interactive series will allow viewers to join in on the conversation via social platforms and talk directly with [Matthews], directly influencing the tone and direction of the show. “
Hello Ross premiered September 6 at 10:00 pm. It airs weekly.
In his introduction, Mathews pointed out he was wearing a pink tie as a result of viewer votes on HelloRoss.com.
In addition, the first segment featured YouTube footage of fans receiving tickets to see U.K. pop sensation One Direction, as well as tweets about the One Direction movie, “This is Us in 3D.”
Hello Ross also included a live chat with YouTube personality Zachary Campbell of Dayton, Ohio who films himself watching Lady Gaga videos for the first time and posts the results online.
And Mathews wrapped up his first show with a video question from a fan for Sky Blu of electronic dance duo LMFAO.
Throughout the show, the @HelloRoss Twitter feed, which has 445,000 followers as of September 9, ran in the background.
During the show, E! ran ads encouraging pop-culture-obsessed fans to use #HelloRoss. It also pushed #TeamRoss.
What’s more, according to Mathews’ Twitter feed, Hello Ross trended on Twitter on September 6.
Mathews himself used Instagram to post pre-show photos of himself and his audience.
An E! rep did not respond to requests for comment.
Hello Ross has 6,500 likes on Facebook.