Harry Connick Jr. joining daytime talk world and all that jazz

There will be a new face in daytime talk and it will be able to grow a beard. That face will belong to singer/actor Harry Connick Jr. as he will add to the daytime chatter with “Harry.”

Connick doesn’t offer a lot of details about the show except to say it will not look like the other talk shows on the air.

“ It’s going to be different every day. One thing I will tell you is I’m not going to come out every day and sing a song with the band. We’re doing 180 shows a year. I don’t think anybody’s that good,” Connick says. “After about three weeks, it’s like, ‘Oh, my God. He’s gonna sing another song.’

“So I will be singing a lot of music and playing a lot of music.”

The more Connick talks about the show the more it appears “Harry” will be the jazz version of talk shows. The main themes will be the same but he’s leaving a lot of room to improvise.

One place he won’t be saddled is in the interview process. Most talk shows feature a pre-interview with the guests done by a producer. Notes are given to the host so they will have talking points. Connick’s apprroach will be no pre-interviews. He believes it is his responsibility to know enough about the guest to be able to carry on a conversation.

The big question is why Connick would want to tackle a TV project that could keep him busy for years.

“Well, I love to entertain, and I’ve done so many different things throughout my career that have fulfilled me so much, from being on tour, making records, being on sitcoms, being on Broadway. I felt that this would be an opportunity for me to do all of the things that I really love to do sort of under one roof,” Connick says. “ I get to play music. I get to entertain. I get to meet incredible people, both celebrities and everyday folks who are absolutely amazing. I also get to experience the entertainment business in a new way.

“I’ve always liked to try to do new things. People asked me the same thing when I signed up to do ‘Will & Grace,’ like what made you want to do that or what made you want to write for Broadway? What made you want to star on Broadway? And this is just another line of things that I’m obsessed with entertainment.”

Connick has done a variety of different kinds of entertainment but he connects the closest with the new talk show. That’s because he’s not playing a character but gets to go out and work with top-notch people and then share that with an audience daily.

He calls the talk show a dream job.

This story was originally published August 4, 2016 at 10:21 AM with the headline "Harry Connick Jr. joining daytime talk world and all that jazz."