Aftershow

An aftershow or after-show is a genre of television talk show whose topic is another television program.  Aftershows are typically broadcast immediately after a new episode of its corresponding program to help retain the audience, and to provide additional discussion and content related to the program (such as analysis and behind-the-scenes material).  Aftershows may also include guest appearances by a show's staff or cast, and emphasize viewer contributions. 

Format
An aftershow's typical format, pioneered by AMC's Talking Dead in 2011, is two or more people discussing a just-aired episode.  This is sometimes accompanied by bonus material from the series, or special guests such as actors or creative staff.  TV channels see aftershows as a cheap way to provide more content for avid fans of popular series, as a venue for interacting with fans directly, and to help provide additional context and analysis to the series' narrative and themes.  Aftershows can also help a channel retain viewers after an episode airs. 

History
MTV Canada's The After Show was cited by the Toronto Star as an early predecessor to the aftershow format adopted in North America.  The show was produced to accompany its airings of MTV's Laguna Beach, due to CRTC licensing requirements regarding Canadian content, and the provision of talk shows (the latter stemming from the service's early history in a previous format, TalkTV).  The show gained a steady following: MTV Canada began producing the show in front of a studio audience for the Laguna Beach finale, resulting in "thousands" of fans lining up outside of the channel's Toronto studio for a chance to attend.  The format was extended to its sister series The Hills, and was later picked up to air on the U.S. MTV channel as well.   

Following the example of Talking Dead, U.S. entertainment channels began to add aftershows to their most popular scripted series in the 2010s: the New York Post wrote of the format having achieved a "saturation point" in 2016.   In 2012, Maria Menounos launched AfterBuzz TV, a network of post-show podcasts devoted to various television series. 

In mid-2015, CBS aired reruns of its primetime dramas in its late-night lineup, to fill the former time slot of Late Show with David Letterman until the premiere of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.  Their lead-out, The Late Late Show with James Corden, subsequently satirized the aftershow format with cold open sketches such as Talking Mentalist—where Corden and his guests discussed the episode of The Mentalist that had just aired, and a metaparody, Talking Talking Mentalist (an aftershow for Talking Mentalist, hosted by Corden's bandleader Reggie Watts). 

Notable aftershows

References

See also
 Post-game show

 
 Aftershows
Category:Television terminology