Queen Latifah throws hat into the talk show ring

Queen Latifah is the latest celebrity to launch a new career as a TV talk show host. What are her prospects of success?

This early, we can see that her strongest suits are her genuine interest in her guests, her natural hosting style, her “big mama” warmth and the importance she gives to her studio audience.

On the other hand, Queen Latifah still needs to make her own, unique mark in terms of what she wants her new show to be and do, so that it doesn’t end up as, say, “Oprah, Part 2.”

In this regard, she should note that Anderson Cooper’s own attempt to redefine himself as a talk show host didn’t prosper, because he couldn’t let go and relax, and still came across as a broadcast journalist.

Cooper tried to stay on longer by getting a different cohost each week, but that didn’t turn the tide for him, either.

Perhaps Queen Latifah can study the career and image choices of successful talk show hosts who have been doing daily programs for years and even decades.

For instance, Jay Leno and David Letterman are both talk show icons who got their start in show business as stand-up comedians. Thus, their long-running programs are heavily tongue-in-cheek, even “crazier” than the seminal program of pioneer host Johnny Carson. Letterman is particularly irascible and “counter-culture” in his approach, even if he’s already in his 60s.

Stand-up comedy

It’s instructive to note that Ellen DeGeneres also got her start in stand-up comedy, but her own daily talk show, which has been popular viewing fare for a full decade, is markedly different from Leno and Letterman’s programs.

Her “Ellen” show is madcap, true, but it’s also known for its penchant for helping destitute people out with substantial gifts in cash and kind, and for “discovering” outstanding child performers.

In this wise, “Ellen” is similar to Oprah Winfrey’s own show, which has the additional “unique selling factor” of featuring topics and guests, who inspire viewers to keep improving themselves and their prospects.

Other program hosts Queen Latifah can learn from include Conan O’Brien and Jimmy Kimmel. In his youth, O’Brien was even more counter-culture than Letterman. In fact, he sometimes behaved like a loose canon, and some viewers of the mainstream sort felt uneasy and uncomfortable watching him and his spaced-out antics.

These days, however, O’Brien is older and less erratic in his approach, so he’s lost some of his defining “edge.”

For his part, Kimmel used to be seen as the poor man’s talk show host, more predictable and stodgier than the competition. Of late, however, he appears to have sharpened his hosting style and has moved up, closer to the A-list level that the likes of DeGeneres and Letterman inhabit.

So, which way should Queen Latifah go so that her new talk show becomes a “player” more quickly? We think that her unique edge is the fact that she’s an actress-comedian-singer, so her show should reflect this more performance-oriented bent and edge, by showcasing her own talents and featuring more stars and musicians as her guests. Suggestion received—loud and clear?