A new late-night show, ‘Outside Tonight,’ is attempting to bring the traditional late-night format to YouTube. The show, created and hosted by 26-year-old Julian Shapiro-Barnum, features a desk, a band, and interviews with guests, but with a digital native’s twist.
Shapiro-Barnum’s Vision
Shapiro-Barnum believes that the internet has changed the way people consume late-night content, and he wants to reassemble the elements of traditional late-night TV into a cohesive long-form show. Each episode has a theme and is filmed outside, with new episodes appearing weekly.
The show’s pace is fast, and the opening monologue is broken into separate parts to accommodate the attention span of viewers with devices. Shapiro-Barnum has some powerful champions, including the William Morris Endeavor agency and YouTube, which is helping to pay for his campaign to get an Emmy nomination for another digital show he hosts.
Challenges Ahead
Despite the support, the operation is no-frills, with a small staff and a budget that is a fraction of a typical late-night show. The show has two sponsors, Amazon and Chase Freedom, but Shapiro-Barnum needs to persuade more sponsors to bankroll the show. He believes that if he can get a handful of viral hits, viewers will find the long-form show and stick with it.
Original reporting: Texarkana Gazette — read the source article.
