Katie Couric and her executive producer Jeff Zucker teased more details about her upcoming talk show on Tuesday. The two talked about what viewers can expect, as well as what they can't.
Speaking at the NATPE conference in Miami, Couric said that she was looking forward to returning to a genre where she would have a deeper connection with her viewers. The show will be live, and both Zucker and Couric sounded confident that the former "Today" co-host would be able reach women ages 25 to 54.
In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Couric touted the life experiences that made her relatable to her audience. She said, "I lost my husband and my sister. and I've learned a lot about cancer in the course of my life... I’m a mother of two daughters. A single parent... I have dealt with aging parents and I'm aging myself. I think I'm interested in a lot of topics a lot of people out there are dealing with, and I'm dealing with them too."
Zucker said that the daytime show will run "the gamut from serious to silly." He also said, "We're not going to do 'Today' in the afternoon, but we are going to hopefully take advantage of the hole that we think exists in the afternoon marketplace for honest, elevated conversation."
New talk shows, including Anderson Cooper's, have sought to fill the vacuum left by the end of Oprah's show last May. On Tuesday, Couric and Zucker said that Oprah was irreplaceable, but that they hoped Couric could fill the role of a "trusted friend" on television.
Her new program will be the most expensive of the new syndicated talk shows hitting the airwaves in September. It was also announced on Monday that the show has been picked up by 93% of markets.