Live show veterans Ricky Kirschner and Glenn Weiss have just come off a highly rated Democratic National Convention — more than 26 million people tuned in Thursday night to watch Vice President Kamala Harris accept the party’s presidential nomination.
The Emmy-winning duo (Kershner is executive producer; Weiss is director) have crafted a four-day event that packs a punch. And while Democratic veterans don’t typically pick issue-focused speakers — this year, that fell to political consultant Stephanie Cutter and her team — Kirchner and Weiss They played a huge role in shaping the feel of the show and influencing the messages we get across. They also created Lil Jon’s viral song The moment of calling.
As the conference ends, Hollywood Reporter We spoke with the duo about what they’re proud of, what they might do differently, and the Beyoncé rumors that just won’t go away. Their conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
The DNC felt a little different this year—energy and glamour. How much of that was intentional?
Ricky Kirschner All the excitement we feel when we’re together after not being together in four years [during Covid] I think that played a big part in it. It’s been eight years since we’ve been able to have an experience like this.
Glenn Weiss And the focus changed too – we took a conference we had four weeks ago, and with a new candidate, we cancelled it so we could create new interests and memories.
How would these broadcasts look different if Biden were nominated?
Weiss We were going to have an energetic experience, of course. But what people were chanting was different; the banners were different. The content was different. I think everything changed a little bit when we went in this different direction with a newly unified party.
Did you change at all during the week as well?
Weiss Well, one of the things we did was expand the use of DJs before the final night in response to the changes that had happened in the room.
This wasn’t planned?
Kirchner It was Wednesday after midnight and we said, ‘You know, if we had a DJ tomorrow night, this would be a great place.’ So we called the Chicago Bulls and said, ‘Do you have a DJ?’
How well do you calibrate everything on social media now? It seems hard enough to produce a conference that plays in the room and at home, let alone a bunch of YouTube videos the next day.
Weiss That’s the shift that’s happened in the last few years. I think with every artist, “How can I cut these clips?” I no longer think, “Well, we have a great opportunity at the beginning of the last hour; I don’t need it again.” Everything is self-contained.
And of course making sure it flows as one piece.
Kirchner I think we managed to do that with most of the speeches. We had some problems the first night. [when the proceedings went long and some key stuff was skipped]But we were able to convince Stephanie and the writers to cut back on the number of speeches, and we were able to get it done. In the past, we would start at 4 p.m., and there would be a parade of speakers and it would just go on and on. Now we have to think differently.
How much should you even change in the room? It seems like everything at a conference is pre-planned, but the best moments are never planned.
Weiss Ricky and I have both spent our careers in live television and pride ourselves on our ability to adapt to the changing landscape – it’s the old improv philosophy of “yes, and.”
Like Gus Walz moment – how was that planned?
Weiss It wasn’t planned at all. I saw what was happening and said, “Let’s move on.”
It was touching to a lot of people that he was crying and saying, ‘That’s my dad.’ But then there was Backlash from some on the right…
Weiss I think that defines both sides of the race. It says more about them than it does about him.
What other moments have surprised you with their popularity?
Kirchner For me it was [Georgia] This was a meeting with Lil Jon. It was a private meeting. We were just trying to energize the room, and we woke up the next morning and it was like, “Oh my God.” We actually asked a couple of people in other states if they wanted to do something, and they didn’t respond. But Lil Jon agreed to do it.
Weiss I knew Lil Jon was going to make it when Sean Astin woke up. [for Indiana] And people started chanting, “Rudy, Rudy.” But it’s important to remember that we don’t want every moment to be an in-your-face DJ moment – we also want something that’s impactful. What you want is to craft a show that gets your hands clapping but also gets the tears flowing. That’s a big point of what we do – flash and shine is great but if we can get your heart and your emotion, that’s what we really want.
the Speech from The parents of the young man held by Hamas in Gaza, Hersh Goldberg Polin, seem to fit that description. The resonance of this event was different from many previous conference moments.
Weiss I was on a lot of sets. When I tried to call the cameras to take pictures, I felt so suffocated that I couldn’t even call the camera. It was profound for me. Our job is to make people at home feel some of that suffocation, and I’d like to think we did that there.
Kirchner “Oh my God, I can’t breathe here.” You know, when we do a show like the Tony Awards, we rehearse everything and we know all these people. But here there are so many people we don’t know and speeches we don’t know. It’s a surprise to us, too.
Speaking of surprises…
Kirchner (laughs): Oh no.
I mean, I have to do this. Beyoncé. Was this supposed to happen on Thursday night? What really happened here?
Kirchner We didn’t post anything about Beyoncé. We denied it every time the media asked us – even though people on the internet were lying. Staff They didn’t believe me. I was getting texts from news organizations saying, “When is Beyoncé going to show up?” But come on, we have the biggest star, the Democratic presidential nominee. Why ignore that?
Weiss This is the internet taking on a life of its own, and people taking something as fact — literally to the point where people in my cubicle would say, “Is it coming? You can tell me.” And I’d say, “I had no idea it was coming.” And they’d say, “I had no idea? So there’s something to know!” It was so crazy. But it wasn’t coming. Eventually even TMZ [which first reported it] It had to be issued apology.
You had a bunch of other celebrities, of course. But there seemed to be constant pressure on how much to show.
RK: We’re smart enough to know that what we’re here for is to spread the message about the democratic side. Celebrities certainly help us do that, but we have to keep the end goal in mind. We had Pink [on Thursday]She was amazing. But Pink was singing a beautiful song, not Pink flying off the ceiling. She was singing the right song at the right time, and it fit the time beautifully.
What is the best political moment from where you sit?
Kirchner Michelle clearly nailed it. And so did Doug’s speech. It was so warm and human.
Do you think the moment the conference is held can change anything regarding voting? Do you think attempt To do that?
Kirchner If TikTok goes viral because of voting, and 100 people or even one person in Georgia decides to vote because of it, I think we’ve made a difference. At the Tony Awards, we want you to see a show on Broadway. The goal here is to get you to vote for the right person.
Weiss For me, it’s not just a job, it’s a cause. I’m just trying to use my skills to contribute to this cause.
If you did it again in 2028, how much would you continue to repeat what you did here?
WeissThe biggest change if we do this again in 2028 will be the question: “What is the right way to conduct a review of President Harris’s work over the past four years?”
To the message!
Weiss (laughs): Of course.
Kirchner The biggest change I hope for is the addition of the TV Academy. [Emmy] Best Live Political Event category.
It could happen.
Kirchner (laughs) Nobody ever knows.
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