Throughout its history, world television reiterated each of its most successful formulas. But not only because of creative laziness or fear of innovating, but to ensure the advertising pattern that has sustained it since its inception. Thus, the arrival at the end of March of actor Fernando Dente to the American screen is a new attempt to revive the genre of the “late night show” locally.
It is a type of format that is broadcast at night and in which the viewer has access to interviews, humorous and musical segments.
The stage setting is reduced to a desk, a couple of armchairs, an illustration of an urban night view, and a platform for instrumentalists and singers. But the most important thing is the presence of a charismatic, witty, histrionic, verbose conductor capable of overcoming the various unforeseen events of a live broadcast.
It is a purely American creation that has a tradition of decades and that many countries have tried to imitate, almost always without success.
Because it is current, of daily frequency and requires someone very ductile, it rarely attracted national programmers. In fact, among the multiple attempts, the most notable was Telefe’s “Duro de acostar”, which was hosted by the musician Roberto Pettinato in the late 1990s, and included David Bowie among his guests.
Now Dente, who is a talented and well-known performer of the Buenos Aires musical theater (he recently starred in “Kinky Boots” with Martín Bossi), is making the leap to open television at a time when the medium and the audience are demanding renewal of personalities. Chosen by Jotax, the same producer of “Los Mammones” with Jey Mammon, which worked quite well in the post-pandemic, he carries out a program that also contains his last name in the title and responds, in part, to the stated characteristics.
From the first program, Dente handles himself like a fish in water. Owner of a harmonious voice, he sings songs from the most diverse genres very well, accompanied by a fixed band and choir and, when warranted, the guest figure.
In the interviews, far from sticking only to the questions indicated by the production, he is attentive to the responses of his guests, and asks them spontaneously and even complicitly.
Little by little, Dente shapes his own style based on affectionately bonding with his team, summoned and public.
In these times of staunch individualism, it’s a welcome virtue.
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