Animal Talking with Gary Whitta
A late-night talk show set in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
Animal Talking with Gary Whitta was a web television virtual talk show hosted by Gary Whitta and livestreamed on Twitch. The show was notable for being performed entirely within the video game Animal Crossing: New Horizons, with a talk show set built in-game. It premiered on April 25, 2020, and ran for two seasons totaling 25 episodes.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Late-night talk show; Variety show
- Creator
- Gary Whitta
- Starring
- Gary Whitta; Adam Nickerson
- Theme music
- Kenny Fong
- Opening theme
- "Animal Talking Theme Music"
- Seasons
- 2
- Episodes
- 26
- Executive producers
- Leah Whitta
Facts from the source article.
Background
Gary Whitta began streaming himself playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons daily about a month before Animal Talking started, under the name Animal Crossing Mornings. This helped his channel build an audience. During his playthrough, he conceived a talk show set inspired by The Tonight Show, The Larry Sanders Show, and Between Two Ferns. A pilot episode aired on April 25, 2020, with guest Naomi Kyle and was well received. The show then produced four more episodes that week before settling into a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule, and from episode 16 onward aired every Wednesday at 7PM PT. In December 2020, Whitta announced no new episodes were planned, citing anxiety and stress from organizing the show weekly.
Production
The show was filmed in Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Gary Whitta's island of Kawaii. The set used in-game furniture created by or gifted from viewers. The in-game camera filmed the show, though its limitations required the host avatar to move for better angles. Guests appeared as Animal Crossing avatars, with wardrobe supervised by Twitch streamer Kate Stark. If a guest did not play the game, executive producer Leah Whitta customized her own avatar to resemble the guest and puppeteered it live as they spoke via Discord. Adam Nickerson served as bandleader and edited full episodes into ten-minute highlight videos for YouTube. The logo was designed by Chandana Ekanayake with Leah Whitta, and the theme song was composed by Kenny Fong, with credits also to Tom Young, Cameron Rose, Chris Petty, Desmond Splitter, Christian Lucy, and K.K. Slider. Each episode opened with Whitta's avatar performing activities on his island while Snowbike Mike announced the guests. After the theme song, Mike introduced Whitta, who greeted the audience, spoke with Nickerson, and delivered news. Main segments included celebrity interviews, live musical performances, and stand-up comedy, with conversations often focusing on gaming and Animal Crossing. At the end, each guest delivered a joke, and the live audience voted via chat poll for the best. A segment called Danny's Diary, featuring Danny Trejo, debuted on June 8, with Trejo's avatar giving Nickerson a tour of his island. Despite viral success and interest from sponsors and cable networks, Whitta declined these opportunities, stating that monetization or corporatization would destroy the show's whimsy and authenticity.
Reception
Animal Talking was well received by viewers. It was featured on the Twitch homepage, and its fourth episode reached over 12,000 viewers, ranking number 14 on the site's most watched streams that day. Episode 10 drew a total of 339,000 individual viewers, while episode 11 set a show record with 18,000 concurrent viewers. The Verge called it '2020's Hottest Late-Night Talk Show.' Megan Farokhmanesh noted that mistakes that would be agonizing on other shows were part of what made Animal Talking special. Screen Rant's Christopher Teuton praised Whitta's interviewing skill, saying his conversations were as enjoyable as those on professional late-night shows.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes of Animal Talking with Gary Whitta are there?
Animal Talking with Gary Whitta has 26 episodes across 2 seasons.
When did Animal Talking with Gary Whitta end?
Animal Talking with Gary Whitta last aired on 30 October 2020.
More in 2020s American Late-night Television Series
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