For talk show fans, New York and Los Angeles are the only two destinations worth making plans to travel to, since the east and west coast cities are home to the vast majority of morning, daytime and late night talk shows.
Save for Chicago, of course. And though it is now home to really only one major daytime talk show, it’s a doozy: The Oprah Winfrey Show.
If you are about to embark on that long-waited journey to see the talk show of your dreams, remember – there’s a lot more to do in New York and Los Angeles than watch David Letterman or Conan O'Brien crack wise.
Before you book that flight or reserve that hotel, make sure you have tickets to the show you want to see. Getting tickets to some shows might take as long as a year. Most can take two to three months. So unless your intent is to wing it and go stand-by, a trip to New York or L.A. to see your favorite talk show can be foiled well before you have left.
Another thing to remember is that most shows allow audience members to carry only certain items. Cell phones with cameras and other recording devices.
They also require that you have photo i.d. to prove you are who you say you are. So make sure you’ve packed your driver’s license before you go to the show.
By far, New York is home to the most talk shows, from the Late Show to The View to The Today Show. Letterman and The View are perhaps the hardest to get tickets to. The View can take as long as two years. But standing outside watching Today, Good Morning America and The Early Show is free, you’re likely to see a celebrity or two, and in the case of The Early Show, you can get a free backstage tour after the program wraps for the morning.
When you are not getting your talk show fix, there is a lot more to see than hot dog stands and subway stations. Heather Cross, the New York City About.com Guide, provides a wealth of information about the city, like these gems:
It's surprising how many talk shows Los Angeles has when compared to New York. It seems to be about half. But L.A. is the home to The Tonight Show, the king of late night talk shows (though by most estimates, the current king of late night resides in the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York). Another big name in daytime TV shoots her show on the west coast: The Ellen DeGeneres Show. And two upcoming late night talk show hosts Jimmy Kimmel and Craig Ferguson, call L.A. home, too.
And while your downtime most likely will be spent touring celebrity homes and looking for stars at Spago’s or on Rodeo Drive, About.com’s Los Angeles Guide Kayte Deioma shows that L.A. is more than just a land of make believe. It has history and culture.
