Two veteran programs, successful in what they do, and two very different ways of facing the interviewee. Both formulas work, but they are radically different. One of the keys lies in guest management. In the case of ‘El Hormiguero’, the guest is closed three weeks before the program airs. The team of scriptwriters works with a previous interview that has been carried out with the guest. «Everything is very organized and does not depend so much on current events. They have been there for so many years that part of the success is this closed formula that people expect what is going to happen,” explains Raquel Márquez, who has been a scriptwriter for the program for four years, during a talk by the Alma writers’ union. Once the questions have been written, the team’s favorite moment arrives: ‘chilling out’ the interview. «The same morning it’s time to introduce new current jokes. There is a team of three veterans who know how to do it very well. It is a wonderful school of ego because there is no pressure and normally they do not remember, for better or worse, all the proposals you have made that have not worked out,” he says with a laugh.
In the case of ‘La Revuelta’, Broncano’s team works in a different way. «I am flattered that you recognize our professionalism, although I am sorry to tell you that this is not the case. I wish this were our success, but in reality we don’t know why it works so well,” admits Javi Varela, deputy director and screenwriter of ‘La Revuelta. They don’t have as much time to manage the guest as in ‘El Hormiguero’ so the way of dealing with it is different. Jokes also work here, but in a different way. “Anything that makes a joke is always positive.” That’s what they have signs for, an element that gives a lot of play in each program. “It allows you to add another layer to the program.” While Pablo Motos has a form for the program with jokes included, ‘La Revuelta’ writes the script for a program “without a script.” «It is the least similar to conventional television that I have experienced. The final text is never written by a screenwriter. Words always pass through someone and, ultimately, through those who pronounce them. We don’t write the jokes, especially not on the labels. It is the responsibility of who says them,” explains Varela. When each broadcast of ‘La Revuelta’ starts, the team of scriptwriters has a “living document”, that is, a Word sheet in which they build the program as it progresses.
Marichalar’s victory in ‘El Hormiguero’
The way of constructing the guest interview is different as is the way of interviewing him. ‘El Hormiguero’ continues to have the classic question-answer format, previously managed by the scriptwriters. ‘La Revuelta’, on the other hand, prefers a conversation about any subject beyond the promotion that the guest comes to do. This is where another differentiating factor of the program also comes into play: the public. While in the Motos program the audience has a supporting role throughout the broadcast, in ‘La Revuelta’ they become the protagonist every night, something that also gives rise to greater improvisation.
And along with the script, the interview and the audience, there is another key factor that differentiates the two programs: the live show. David Broncano’s team has at least two hours of editing after recording, since the program is recorded before it is broadcast. ‘El Hormiguero’, on the other hand, plays with time and in just one hour he has to give way to the sections designed for each day and manage the minutes himself (or through the ‘handset’).
And once both programs are over, it’s time to go to the audiences, who give clues about the two formulas for success. Until last season, any Motos guest could make a great tip, now their profile makes the difference, which from what the audiences indicate, those faces that can value current affairs such as Vicente Vallés (17.9%) and Arturo Pérez Reverte (19.2%), as well as Hollywood stars, who recently announced the next visit of Hugh Grant, Patrick Dempsey or Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Broncano’s audience does not have such a preference for the guest, hence Broncano does not have the need to announce which guest comes each night. His audience simply loves Broncano.
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