Posted by chicagomedia.org on November 21, 2008 at 10:53:18:
Jonathon Brandmeier trying late-night TV on Channel 5
WLUP morning teams with Larry Wert in pair of gigs on WMAQ
Could WLUP-FM (97.9) morning drive host Jonathon Brandmeier become a fixture on late-night television? It's possible. Brandmeier will test the waters with a couple of (very) late-evening 30-minute "Almost Live" specials on NBC-owned WMAQ-Channel 5. One will air at 1:05 a.m. Dec. 5 and at 1:05 a.m. Dec. 12.
It's no coincidence Brandmeier reached out to WMAQ when he decided to pursue this new television venture. Larry Wert, president and general manager of WMAQ, was the GM for several years in the late 1980s and early 1990s at classic rock WLUP-FM, where Brandmeier has been a fixture -- on and off -- for a very long while. So Wert, who has stayed friendly with the WLUP star, was more than happy to help with the TV specials, which were shot on a studio set without a live audience.
As described to us, the shows' content will be a real hodgepodge, including audience call-in, famous and not-so-famous guests and some video clips, among other things. The shows were designed, apparently, to spotlight Brandmeier's comedic spontaneity.
Wert said nothing is planned beyond the two specials, but if they pull in large audiences, Wert suggested Brandmeier could go further with the concept.
The upcoming specials aren't Brandmeier's first brush with television. Back when Wert was at WLUP, Brandmeier worked with NBC on a short-lived syndicated national TV show called "Johnny B. on the Loose."
(Lewis Lazare, Chicago Sun-Times)