April 21, 2025 • 16 mins
Lauren Hirsch-Williams and Robert Blagman introduce their new podcast that accompanies their television show Hollywood After Dark, sharing the concept and development process behind this innovative entertainment format.
• Inspired by Hugh Hefner's groundbreaking 1968-1970 show Playboy After Dark
• Original show broke barriers by mixing races, hosting diverse performers, and creating an unscripted environment
• Hollywood After Dark reimagines the concept for modern audiences seeking authentic celebrity interactions
• Show features a mix of celebrities from various industries: actors, musicians, athletes, chefs, magicians
• Format uses 45 hidden cameras to capture natural interactions without performers "turning on" for the camera
• Entertainment segments include music, cooking, comedy and dancing to create a variety show atmosphere
• Show has been cleared in 100 territories globally with potential to reach 2.5 billion viewers
• Focus on resilience and self-confidence rather than gossip, politics or religion
• Hosted by Dancing with the Stars' Emma Slater
• Follow on social media at Hollywood After Dark TV on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Robert Blagman (00:00):
Three, two, one.
Welcome.
Lauren Hirsch Williams (00:06):
Hi there , I'm Lauren Hirsch-Williams.
Robert Blagman (00:09):
I'm Robert Blagman and this is the first
edition of Hollywood After DarkIn Your Ear.
Lauren Hirsch Williams (00:19):
This is a brand new podcast to go with
our television show HollywoodAfter Dark.
And we wanted to create apodcast to really be unscripted
and talk about how things cametogether and what's going on
behind the scenes and just takeyou on the journey with us as we
develop the show and roll itout around the world, because it
(00:40):
is rolling out around the world.
Why don't we start with just theconcept about Hollywood After
Dark and how it came to be?
Do you want to talk a littlebit about the show that you
loved so much, and then I'lltalk about how I took it and
twisted it and built it intothis new show.
Robert Blagman (00:57):
Yes, I mean.
The origins of Hollywood AfterDark go back to 1968, 1969, 1970
, when Hugh Hefner createdPlayboy After Dark, which was a
breakthrough program, one of thefirst shows in syndication
around the country in the UnitedStates.
And what it was?
(01:20):
It was late night, behind thescenes of the Playboy Club.
Lauren Hirsch Williams (01:22):
It didn't involve nudity, it wasn't
about playboy bunnies oranything like that.
Robert Blagman (01:25):
No, no it was about the late night lifestyle
of the rich and, at that time,famous and popular and the
beautiful people.
It was a black tie event it wasvery formal yeah, very formal
and what was really unique aboutit was nothing on tv had ever
been like that show.
It was live, really live,unscripted.
(01:47):
They may have had segments anddirections, but everything was
off the cuff.
The other thing that HughHuffner demanded and did was he
mixed white talent with blacktalent, Sammy Davis Jr with a
white singer and things likethat.
That was the first time, truly,where audiences were able to
(02:08):
see the races mix which todaywe're used to in commercials and
everywhere.
At that time, it wasextraordinary to watch this,
something you'd never seenbefore.
Lauren Hirsch Williams (02:18):
Yeah, and I think a lot of people hear
Hugh Hefner's name andimmediately think about the bad
things and there were a lot ofbad things about him, of course,
and that's for everyone tojudge on their own.
But what he created with thisshow was something that brought
together so many differentartists.
You had everyone from Sonny andCher to the Grateful Dead, to
(02:42):
Tina Turner Garfunkel, Simon andGarfunkel Sammy Davis Jr.
Robert Blagman (02:46):
Peter, Paul and Mary.
Lauren Hirsch Williams (02:48):
It ran across the spectrum of the
biggest names of the time.
Robert Blagman (02:53):
Plus, he was unafraid to have people like
Mort Sahl and George Carlinother comedians that were
cutting edge, that said thingsthat were not allowed on Ed
Sullivan at the time or theregular Tonight Show.
This was very cutting edge.
Lauren Hirsch Williams (03:08):
Yeah, and the interesting thing about
it was that it was in well,whether it was really his
penthouse or not, I don't know,but it was in his penthouse.
Robert Blagman (03:17):
It was.
Lauren Hirsch Williams (03:17):
People were brought into his home and
the concept, although it wasbreakthrough, was actually very
simple in a way.
He filled the room with a lotof extras, he had a couple of
musical acts, a couple ofcomedians, and he just mingled
and the cameras followed himaround and then they went to the
talent while they wereperforming and that's what the
(03:39):
show was.
It sounds very simple intoday's terms, but back then it
was very, very interesting, andit was a complete contradiction
in a way.
Don't you think of what he wasknown for with playboy magazine
and all the nudity andexploitation women, women and
this was mansion and all that.
Robert Blagman (03:56):
This is so long before the internet, so this is
really like the first chance forpeople to see a tiktok video,
if you will.
That lasted an hour and behindthe scenes it was actually at
the Playboy Club.
He had six or seven PlayboyClubs around the country.
This one, most of the shows,were filmed in the Chicago
(04:16):
Playboy Club in the city, andpeople would come and visit.
Lauren Hirsch Williams (04:23):
But you felt like when you watched it
you were part of it.
For the viewer.
You felt you were part of it,but also-.
Robert Blagman (04:28):
Very inclusive.
Lauren Hirsch Williams (04:29):
It was like the middle of his living
room.
You'd go in and there'd besofas and coffee tables and
things like that.
So it felt like you were insomebody's home when they were
throwing a black tie cocktailparty and then suddenly there
would be Sonny and Cher, TinaTurner performing.
It changed over the years, andthey built more of you know,
bigger sets and things like that.
(04:50):
But in the beginning SammyDavis Jr would just start
performing in the middle of theliving room.
Robert Blagman (04:54):
He would just want to sing a It was the exact
opposite in many ways of whatwas on in those days, Johnny
Carson with The Tonight Show,where people were on plugging a
movie, plugging something, or itwas you would.
and start singing, somebodywould play piano, and Hugh
Hefner would go around and talkto people and you knew it wasn't
scripted because Yeah, Ihaven't thought about that, or
I'll tell you this or that.
It would be horrible to sayanything wrong or do something
(05:22):
that against the trend.
Well, Hollywood After Darkcontinues against the trend.
Lauren Hirsch Williams (05:28):
So we basically were thinking about
that show and thinking about thebarriers that were broken.
But what happened was, you know, things have evolved.
We know everything abouteverybody.
Now you see surgeries ontelevision.
I mean, you see it all.
So, you know, I started thinkingabout because I kind of took
(05:48):
this idea.
Robert knew a little bit moreabout the show than I did, but I
took the idea and thought whatis today's barrier?
You know what is going on rightnow.
That is that would be sodifferent for people and there
are so many reality shows,there's so many different things
, but the concept of gettingcelebrities together to have an
(06:12):
event and just mingle with eachother and see what their
authentic lives are like, Ithink we're in the business, but
there's always that mystiqueand that wonder of what is this
party like?
You want to know what goes onat the Vanity Fair party after
the Oscars.
We still have the passion forthe business and the curiosity.
(06:33):
But as I've worked, as hasRobert, for so many decades with
different celebrities, overtime you get to know them, you
get to see different pieces oftheir lives, but when you talk
to them about how they actuallysocialize together, it becomes
something different.
And we didn't want it to belike a red carpet.
But what is Hollywood AfterDark?
(06:54):
What is it when people arecoming together and meeting new
people, making new friends,seeing old friends coming
together at an event, and sothat's what Hollywood After Dark
started to morph into.
And you know, if you just filma TV show of a party, it becomes
boring because you're sittingat home and you're watching it.
We didn't, you know, justdidn't think that that was the
(07:15):
right way to go.
Robert Blagman (07:16):
So the idea of turning it into an entertainment
show and a variety show, aswell as this live event and this
reality program, that's whatstarted coming together and
allowing you, as the viewer, tofeel organically part of the
party, listening in to peoplespeaking to one another who you
(07:41):
might idolize, not know, want towant to know, but very regular,
very real and very raw.
Lauren Hirsch Williams (07:47):
And I think the other piece of it is
that it became apparent well tome anyway, as I was trying to
figure out a modern day versionof this old show that it isn't
always just the same kind ofpeople getting together.
So you know, a lot of musicianswill know each other and
they'll spend holidays togetherand things like that.
(08:07):
But the word celebrity and theword Hollywood really stands for
a variety of differentindustries.
So for Hollywood After Dark, itbecame more important to me, I
think, to have not just filmstars or TV stars or reality
stars or influencers, but alsoathletes and Olympians and
(08:29):
magicians and musicians andcomedians and mixologists and
chefs.
And why don't we bring it alltogether and play with it?
Right?
Robert Blagman (08:41):
I mean, that's how I was thinking when I was
putting it together Bring avoice to people who generally
don't have a voice, empoweringyoung people, empowering women,
empowering people.
And what's really interestingis how this has resonated
globally, because currently wehave cleared the show.
As they say, the show will airin 100 territories around the
(09:01):
world.
We could literally reach two totwo and a half billion viewers
if everybody tuned in at thesame time.
That's an incredible power tohave an incredible opportunity
to deliver something that'sentertaining to different
cultures.
And one thing that seems toresonate through culture is the
concept of Hollywood, and inevery country that concept has a
(09:24):
different meaning, butHollywood resonates.
Lauren Hirsch Williams (09:27):
Yeah, and I think that it's.
You know, in this first episodewe're kind of talking to you
about how we came up with thisand where this came from.
But you know, we don't want tojust show a party or an event
every episode.
We want to have some sort ofsomething that comes out of it
(09:49):
that's of use to people, becausethere is this mystique and we
see people in Hollywood and howglamorous they are, or you know,
maybe they're down and out, oryou know, there's different
things.
We do not want gossip.
This is not about gossip, it'snot about politics and it's it's
not about religion, right, butit is about the resilience that
you see with people and puttingthem together and just maybe
(10:12):
throwing a topic out and lettingthem talk to each other is
Something that we hope is goingto help the viewers Learn more
about what makes people tick.
You look on social media andeverybody portrays the image
they want on social media.
Now, a lot of it's very realand a lot of it's very raw, but
it is orchestrated.
(10:32):
You know, if I don't want a badpicture of me on social media,
I'm not going to post it, butwhen we go in and we have this
event, we started this and therewere almost 45 cameras.
A lot of them were just putaround the room so that there
aren't people walking aroundwith a camera on their shoulder
filming people, because that theminute a celebrity sees a
(10:55):
cameraman or camera woman with asomething on their shoulder,
they can't help but jump intothat mode of turning themselves
on for the camera.
So we didn't want that.
We wanted it to be just gettingtogether, having fun and
talking about topics that willbe uplifting about, about
resilience, aboutself-confidence, because we look
(11:16):
at celebrities and we thinkthey have it all together and
they don't always all the timeand a lot of them are more than
happy to talk about it, but theywant to do it in an environment
where they feel comfortable.
And as this is coming togetherand it was coming together when
we first started filming, if itwas just a party it would be a
little boring.
So how did we make it fun?
We decided to entertain them aswell, right?
(11:38):
So we had musical acts, we havecooking segments that explain
how to make certain meals, andthen you see the chef outside
talking to other people andmeeting new people.
We have people, we havecomedians, we have magician and
mixologist, creating drinksspecifically for the personality
(11:59):
of of some of the people there,um, and having some dance
segments.
So it's really nice.
Uh, in the, as we've been goingwith this, Emma Slater has been
our host and she's from Dancingwith the Stars, so a lot of her
friends were there and they dida not really a dance off, but
it was like a TikTok dance,where they're learning from each
other, and Mark Ballas wasthere teaching people what to do
(12:21):
, and it was just a lot of fun.
So they're enjoying themselves.
You're seeing them just lettheir guard down and have a good
time.
Robert Blagman (12:28):
I think most people love being on the set of
a TV show or a set of a movie orgoing backstage to a Broadway
show.
There's something excitingabout being behind the scenes or
being somewhere where you'renot supposed to be but you can
be, and we're also so used tohaving cameras in our face
(12:50):
people who are known and unknown.
This show will be reminiscent ofthe original Playboy After Dark
in the sense that it doescreate a brand new genre in live
entertainment unscripted,allowing people to see the real
sides of people, and althoughit's not censored and not
(13:11):
scripted, it's going to bebasically family-friendly and
enjoyable.
Lauren Hirsch Williams (13:16):
Yeah, absolutely.
Robert Blagman (13:17):
Well, you know it's interesting because some
people when we went to SaudiArabia, they were concerned
about the name After Dark.
To them it seemed like, oh,that's After Dark and it could
be dangerous, while other peopleunderstood it was just After
Dark.
So we have to watch what we doin each culture and how it plays
(13:38):
out.
Lauren Hirsch Williams (13:39):
But this is part of how the entire
concept really came together andhow we developed Hollywood
After Dark, and I think we'regoing to talk more about what
goes into making it and behindthe scenes and everything else.
But I think it's a good start.
Robert Blagman (13:55):
The other thing is that, since it is what you've
defined it as we can't defineit right now this is going to be
almost like an opportunity totake something and develop it as
it grows and it will becomewhat it becomes.
Our partnered networks willjoin us, they will give us their
entertainers and we'll seewhere this goes, because it's
(14:17):
not a set structure yeah,exactly, and there are different
modules and segments and thingslike that that are pulled
together to make it all happen.
Lauren Hirsch Williams (14:26):
But the reaction and where we've gone
with it so far has beenabsolutely remarkable.
There are all sorts ofoffshoots and different things
that we're doing.
We won't talk that today butwe'll get into that in different
episodes.
But I think today was a shortone just to talk about how it
came to be.
You know where Hollywood AfterDark came from and I think you
(14:46):
know, just to kind of wrap up,this first episode of our new
podcast is I don't know what doyou think the wildest thing was
about developing this show?
Robert Blagman (14:58):
Well, I think the wildest thing was to take a
venue in Hollywood that wasgenerally a bar or theater, a
venue of that sort, fill it upwith cameras but you don't see
the cameras, mic everybody butyou don't remember you're mic'd
and have everybody mingle andintersperse that with singers,
(15:18):
dancers, musicians, comics andjust interesting people talking,
and what came of that was anorganic explosion of energy and
excitement.
So if you're watching this onvideo, click the link right
below us so you get moreinformation, and if you're
listening to this on audio,you'll be able to click on the
audio button to find out moreabout our show, where it's also
(15:41):
we, you know.
Lauren Hirsch Williams (15:41):
We'd love for you to follow us on
social media yeah, so.
HollywoodA fterD ark.
TV is our Instagram account.
and our website.
We have a Facebook account.
We TikTok.
Robert Blagman (15:51):
We're working on that and if people want to call
us, what's your number?
Lauren Hirsch Williams (15:55):
Yes, that's not happening, okay.
Robert Blagman (15:58):
Thank you for listening thank you, see you
next time see you next time.
Lauren Hirsch Williams (16:01):
We'll tell some stories next time all
right good thanks, that's a wrap.
Three, two, one.
Welcome.
Lauren Hirsch Williams (00:06):
Hi there , I'm Lauren Hirsch-Williams.
Robert Blagman (00:09):
I'm Robert Blagman and this is the first
edition of Hollywood After DarkIn Your Ear.
Lauren Hirsch Williams (00:19):
This is a brand new podcast to go with
our television show HollywoodAfter Dark.
And we wanted to create apodcast to really be unscripted
and talk about how things cametogether and what's going on
behind the scenes and just takeyou on the journey with us as we
develop the show and roll itout around the world, because it
(00:40):
is rolling out around the world.
Why don't we start with just theconcept about Hollywood After
Dark and how it came to be?
Do you want to talk a littlebit about the show that you
loved so much, and then I'lltalk about how I took it and
twisted it and built it intothis new show.
Robert Blagman (00:57):
Yes, I mean.
The origins of Hollywood AfterDark go back to 1968, 1969, 1970
, when Hugh Hefner createdPlayboy After Dark, which was a
breakthrough program, one of thefirst shows in syndication
around the country in the UnitedStates.
And what it was?
(01:20):
It was late night, behind thescenes of the Playboy Club.
Lauren Hirsch Williams (01:22):
It didn't involve nudity, it wasn't
about playboy bunnies oranything like that.
Robert Blagman (01:25):
No, no it was about the late night lifestyle
of the rich and, at that time,famous and popular and the
beautiful people.
It was a black tie event it wasvery formal yeah, very formal
and what was really unique aboutit was nothing on tv had ever
been like that show.
It was live, really live,unscripted.
(01:47):
They may have had segments anddirections, but everything was
off the cuff.
The other thing that HughHuffner demanded and did was he
mixed white talent with blacktalent, Sammy Davis Jr with a
white singer and things likethat.
That was the first time, truly,where audiences were able to
(02:08):
see the races mix which todaywe're used to in commercials and
everywhere.
At that time, it wasextraordinary to watch this,
something you'd never seenbefore.
Lauren Hirsch Williams (02:18):
Yeah, and I think a lot of people hear
Hugh Hefner's name andimmediately think about the bad
things and there were a lot ofbad things about him, of course,
and that's for everyone tojudge on their own.
But what he created with thisshow was something that brought
together so many differentartists.
You had everyone from Sonny andCher to the Grateful Dead, to
(02:42):
Tina Turner Garfunkel, Simon andGarfunkel Sammy Davis Jr.
Robert Blagman (02:46):
Peter, Paul and Mary.
Lauren Hirsch Williams (02:48):
It ran across the spectrum of the
biggest names of the time.
Robert Blagman (02:53):
Plus, he was unafraid to have people like
Mort Sahl and George Carlinother comedians that were
cutting edge, that said thingsthat were not allowed on Ed
Sullivan at the time or theregular Tonight Show.
This was very cutting edge.
Lauren Hirsch Williams (03:08):
Yeah, and the interesting thing about
it was that it was in well,whether it was really his
penthouse or not, I don't know,but it was in his penthouse.
Robert Blagman (03:17):
It was.
Lauren Hirsch Williams (03:17):
People were brought into his home and
the concept, although it wasbreakthrough, was actually very
simple in a way.
He filled the room with a lotof extras, he had a couple of
musical acts, a couple ofcomedians, and he just mingled
and the cameras followed himaround and then they went to the
talent while they wereperforming and that's what the
(03:39):
show was.
It sounds very simple intoday's terms, but back then it
was very, very interesting, andit was a complete contradiction
in a way.
Don't you think of what he wasknown for with playboy magazine
and all the nudity andexploitation women, women and
this was mansion and all that.
Robert Blagman (03:56):
This is so long before the internet, so this is
really like the first chance forpeople to see a tiktok video,
if you will.
That lasted an hour and behindthe scenes it was actually at
the Playboy Club.
He had six or seven PlayboyClubs around the country.
This one, most of the shows,were filmed in the Chicago
(04:16):
Playboy Club in the city, andpeople would come and visit.
Lauren Hirsch Williams (04:23):
But you felt like when you watched it
you were part of it.
For the viewer.
You felt you were part of it,but also-.
Robert Blagman (04:28):
Very inclusive.
Lauren Hirsch Williams (04:29):
It was like the middle of his living
room.
You'd go in and there'd besofas and coffee tables and
things like that.
So it felt like you were insomebody's home when they were
throwing a black tie cocktailparty and then suddenly there
would be Sonny and Cher, TinaTurner performing.
It changed over the years, andthey built more of you know,
bigger sets and things like that.
(04:50):
But in the beginning SammyDavis Jr would just start
performing in the middle of theliving room.
Robert Blagman (04:54):
He would just want to sing a It was the exact
opposite in many ways of whatwas on in those days, Johnny
Carson with The Tonight Show,where people were on plugging a
movie, plugging something, or itwas you would.
and start singing, somebodywould play piano, and Hugh
Hefner would go around and talkto people and you knew it wasn't
scripted because Yeah, Ihaven't thought about that, or
I'll tell you this or that.
It would be horrible to sayanything wrong or do something
(05:22):
that against the trend.
Well, Hollywood After Darkcontinues against the trend.
Lauren Hirsch Williams (05:28):
So we basically were thinking about
that show and thinking about thebarriers that were broken.
But what happened was, you know, things have evolved.
We know everything abouteverybody.
Now you see surgeries ontelevision.
I mean, you see it all.
So, you know, I started thinkingabout because I kind of took
(05:48):
this idea.
Robert knew a little bit moreabout the show than I did, but I
took the idea and thought whatis today's barrier?
You know what is going on rightnow.
That is that would be sodifferent for people and there
are so many reality shows,there's so many different things
, but the concept of gettingcelebrities together to have an
(06:12):
event and just mingle with eachother and see what their
authentic lives are like, Ithink we're in the business, but
there's always that mystiqueand that wonder of what is this
party like?
You want to know what goes onat the Vanity Fair party after
the Oscars.
We still have the passion forthe business and the curiosity.
(06:33):
But as I've worked, as hasRobert, for so many decades with
different celebrities, overtime you get to know them, you
get to see different pieces oftheir lives, but when you talk
to them about how they actuallysocialize together, it becomes
something different.
And we didn't want it to belike a red carpet.
But what is Hollywood AfterDark?
(06:54):
What is it when people arecoming together and meeting new
people, making new friends,seeing old friends coming
together at an event, and sothat's what Hollywood After Dark
started to morph into.
And you know, if you just filma TV show of a party, it becomes
boring because you're sittingat home and you're watching it.
We didn't, you know, justdidn't think that that was the
(07:15):
right way to go.
Robert Blagman (07:16):
So the idea of turning it into an entertainment
show and a variety show, aswell as this live event and this
reality program, that's whatstarted coming together and
allowing you, as the viewer, tofeel organically part of the
party, listening in to peoplespeaking to one another who you
(07:41):
might idolize, not know, want towant to know, but very regular,
very real and very raw.
Lauren Hirsch Williams (07:47):
And I think the other piece of it is
that it became apparent well tome anyway, as I was trying to
figure out a modern day versionof this old show that it isn't
always just the same kind ofpeople getting together.
So you know, a lot of musicianswill know each other and
they'll spend holidays togetherand things like that.
(08:07):
But the word celebrity and theword Hollywood really stands for
a variety of differentindustries.
So for Hollywood After Dark, itbecame more important to me, I
think, to have not just filmstars or TV stars or reality
stars or influencers, but alsoathletes and Olympians and
(08:29):
magicians and musicians andcomedians and mixologists and
chefs.
And why don't we bring it alltogether and play with it?
Right?
Robert Blagman (08:41):
I mean, that's how I was thinking when I was
putting it together Bring avoice to people who generally
don't have a voice, empoweringyoung people, empowering women,
empowering people.
And what's really interestingis how this has resonated
globally, because currently wehave cleared the show.
As they say, the show will airin 100 territories around the
(09:01):
world.
We could literally reach two totwo and a half billion viewers
if everybody tuned in at thesame time.
That's an incredible power tohave an incredible opportunity
to deliver something that'sentertaining to different
cultures.
And one thing that seems toresonate through culture is the
concept of Hollywood, and inevery country that concept has a
(09:24):
different meaning, butHollywood resonates.
Lauren Hirsch Williams (09:27):
Yeah, and I think that it's.
You know, in this first episodewe're kind of talking to you
about how we came up with thisand where this came from.
But you know, we don't want tojust show a party or an event
every episode.
We want to have some sort ofsomething that comes out of it
(09:49):
that's of use to people, becausethere is this mystique and we
see people in Hollywood and howglamorous they are, or you know,
maybe they're down and out, oryou know, there's different
things.
We do not want gossip.
This is not about gossip, it'snot about politics and it's it's
not about religion, right, butit is about the resilience that
you see with people and puttingthem together and just maybe
(10:12):
throwing a topic out and lettingthem talk to each other is
Something that we hope is goingto help the viewers Learn more
about what makes people tick.
You look on social media andeverybody portrays the image
they want on social media.
Now, a lot of it's very realand a lot of it's very raw, but
it is orchestrated.
(10:32):
You know, if I don't want a badpicture of me on social media,
I'm not going to post it, butwhen we go in and we have this
event, we started this and therewere almost 45 cameras.
A lot of them were just putaround the room so that there
aren't people walking aroundwith a camera on their shoulder
filming people, because that theminute a celebrity sees a
(10:55):
cameraman or camera woman with asomething on their shoulder,
they can't help but jump intothat mode of turning themselves
on for the camera.
So we didn't want that.
We wanted it to be just gettingtogether, having fun and
talking about topics that willbe uplifting about, about
resilience, aboutself-confidence, because we look
(11:16):
at celebrities and we thinkthey have it all together and
they don't always all the timeand a lot of them are more than
happy to talk about it, but theywant to do it in an environment
where they feel comfortable.
And as this is coming togetherand it was coming together when
we first started filming, if itwas just a party it would be a
little boring.
So how did we make it fun?
We decided to entertain them aswell, right?
(11:38):
So we had musical acts, we havecooking segments that explain
how to make certain meals, andthen you see the chef outside
talking to other people andmeeting new people.
We have people, we havecomedians, we have magician and
mixologist, creating drinksspecifically for the personality
(11:59):
of of some of the people there,um, and having some dance
segments.
So it's really nice.
Uh, in the, as we've been goingwith this, Emma Slater has been
our host and she's from Dancingwith the Stars, so a lot of her
friends were there and they dida not really a dance off, but
it was like a TikTok dance,where they're learning from each
other, and Mark Ballas wasthere teaching people what to do
(12:21):
, and it was just a lot of fun.
So they're enjoying themselves.
You're seeing them just lettheir guard down and have a good
time.
Robert Blagman (12:28):
I think most people love being on the set of
a TV show or a set of a movie orgoing backstage to a Broadway
show.
There's something excitingabout being behind the scenes or
being somewhere where you'renot supposed to be but you can
be, and we're also so used tohaving cameras in our face
(12:50):
people who are known and unknown.
This show will be reminiscent ofthe original Playboy After Dark
in the sense that it doescreate a brand new genre in live
entertainment unscripted,allowing people to see the real
sides of people, and althoughit's not censored and not
(13:11):
scripted, it's going to bebasically family-friendly and
enjoyable.
Lauren Hirsch Williams (13:16):
Yeah, absolutely.
Robert Blagman (13:17):
Well, you know it's interesting because some
people when we went to SaudiArabia, they were concerned
about the name After Dark.
To them it seemed like, oh,that's After Dark and it could
be dangerous, while other peopleunderstood it was just After
Dark.
So we have to watch what we doin each culture and how it plays
(13:38):
out.
Lauren Hirsch Williams (13:39):
But this is part of how the entire
concept really came together andhow we developed Hollywood
After Dark, and I think we'regoing to talk more about what
goes into making it and behindthe scenes and everything else.
But I think it's a good start.
Robert Blagman (13:55):
The other thing is that, since it is what you've
defined it as we can't defineit right now this is going to be
almost like an opportunity totake something and develop it as
it grows and it will becomewhat it becomes.
Our partnered networks willjoin us, they will give us their
entertainers and we'll seewhere this goes, because it's
(14:17):
not a set structure yeah,exactly, and there are different
modules and segments and thingslike that that are pulled
together to make it all happen.
Lauren Hirsch Williams (14:26):
But the reaction and where we've gone
with it so far has beenabsolutely remarkable.
There are all sorts ofoffshoots and different things
that we're doing.
We won't talk that today butwe'll get into that in different
episodes.
But I think today was a shortone just to talk about how it
came to be.
You know where Hollywood AfterDark came from and I think you
(14:46):
know, just to kind of wrap up,this first episode of our new
podcast is I don't know what doyou think the wildest thing was
about developing this show?
Robert Blagman (14:58):
Well, I think the wildest thing was to take a
venue in Hollywood that wasgenerally a bar or theater, a
venue of that sort, fill it upwith cameras but you don't see
the cameras, mic everybody butyou don't remember you're mic'd
and have everybody mingle andintersperse that with singers,
(15:18):
dancers, musicians, comics andjust interesting people talking,
and what came of that was anorganic explosion of energy and
excitement.
So if you're watching this onvideo, click the link right
below us so you get moreinformation, and if you're
listening to this on audio,you'll be able to click on the
audio button to find out moreabout our show, where it's also
(15:41):
we, you know.
Lauren Hirsch Williams (15:41):
We'd love for you to follow us on
social media yeah, so.
HollywoodA fterD ark.
TV is our Instagram account.
and our website.
We have a Facebook account.
We TikTok.
Robert Blagman (15:51):
We're working on that and if people want to call
us, what's your number?
Lauren Hirsch Williams (15:55):
Yes, that's not happening, okay.
Robert Blagman (15:58):
Thank you for listening thank you, see you
next time see you next time.
Lauren Hirsch Williams (16:01):
We'll tell some stories next time all
right good thanks, that's a wrap.
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