Livelier late night with George Lopez

George Lopez launched his new talk show “Lopez Tonight” Monday night, promising positive changes to late-night television. The Mexican-American comedian, known for focusing his stand-up on racial tensions in America, hopes to make the leap to late night with a high-energy, music-focused talk show.

Lopez himself was very comfortable and confident during a live phone conference with other publications. Lopez started the conversation off with a characteristic joke: “I apologize for being late. It has nothing to do with my ethnicity.”

Despite launching what’s being called a “talk show,” Lopez promised that “the talk will be minimal” and that there will be greater emphasis on music and “inherent energy,” whatever that means.    

Unlike other talk shows, Lopez’s show has an open set that stresses the importance of audience interaction and music. “I want the audience to feel that they can actually affect what goes on,” he said about the large open set, and he hopes the audience will dance during the musical interludes. Lopez wanted his set to “look more like a club” without “a desk, a city background, and [cue] cards that other talk shows typically had.”

He said that he’s tired of typical talk show discussions. Fortunately, he’s on TBS, a network on which he says he can be more liberal with language and content.

Because Lopez believes that most current talk shows appeal to largely white audiences, he believes the diversity he brings may be his ticket to success. “We’re not going for the same piece of pie,” he said.

Finally, Lopez joked that his talk show is the only one that is “White House approved.”

“I knew the president back when he was candidate Obama running against Hillary,” he said. “The White House was nervous about TBS [running a promotion featuring the president] but in the end, I think it all worked out.”