March 16--"The Interview Show," a monthly staple at The Hideout from host Mark Bazer since 2008, is making its television debut next month.
Episodes are already in the can -- filmed live at The Hideout -- and are set to begin airing on Chicago's PBS affiliate WTTW-Ch. 11 at 8:30 p.m. April 8 (following "Check, Please!"). Bazer tells me that each show will feature a pair of 10-minute interviews with a short sketch in between. Some episodes will also have a music performance.
Bazer's approach as a talk show host has always been relaxed and wry, but he is always deeply informed about his celebrity guests (spanning the gamut from musicians to chefs to comedians to writers) and has a talent for asking the right questions and getting people to open up.
Guests for the upcoming WTTW run include Veronica Roth (author of the "Divergent" series), David Axelrod, Rick Bayless, blues musician Toronzo Cannon, Natalie Moore (author of the new book "The South Side") and Hannibal Buress.
"The first show (in 2008), for what it's worth," Bazer told me, "had a young, mostly unknown Hannibal Buress. So it was nice to have him back on now."
nmetz@tribpub.com
