On Sept. 18, Daily Mail TV, based on the popular and prolific website DailyMail.com and produced by Dr. Phil McGraw’s Stage 29 Productions, will debut in first-run syndication.
Hosting the show is Jesse Palmer, who first appeared on television in 2004 as ABC’s The Bachelor. The former NFL player has since gone on to analyze college football for ESPN, work as a correspondent for ABC’s Good Morning America and star on several Food Network shows.
He finished up a guest-hosting stint on Rachael Ray last week and hopped on the phone with B&C contributing editor Paige Albiniak. An edited transcript follows.
What brings you to DailyMailTV? Why did this job look interesting to you?
It’s really a dream opportunity for me. I’ve always been a huge fan of Daily Mail. I’ve found it addictive. It’s where I go to get my news and story-telling fix. With the scope of news they cover, whether it’s breaking news or exclusive, there’s something for everybody and I’ve always found it compelling.
As a fan, did you reach out to them?
They reached out to me. I wasn’t aware that the show was even being considered, but I’m very glad it was. As soon as I heard about the concept, I was immediately excited.
Is it just you or will have hosting help?
I’m the sole host and we’ll have lots of guests, some in studio and some remotely from our offices in NY, from the front lawn of the White House, and across the pond in London and Sydney. The stories aren’t just stories that happen in the U.S. We'll have compelling stories that happen internationally that our viewers in the US will find interesting and want to know about.
What’s the format of the show?
We’re here in our studio in New York. The show is pretty fast-paced, we’re fitting a lot in. One thing anyone notices if they go to DailyMail.com is how much content there is. We have something like 1600 stories, 12,000 photos posted daily so the hardest part for our producers is narrowing down what we cover. We’re going to go fast and furious across a wide range of topics. We are all over the place and I like that. It’s not going to be boring to watch.
Your career has gone in a lot of directions, from football to reality television to sports, news and even food. Is any of this anything you ever expected?
I think in a lot of ways TV found me. It wasn’t what I studied at university — I thought I was going to be an ambassador to Canada if the NFL didn’t work out. But I think through this television journey I have been very open and willing to try new things. I haven’t said no. I’ve given myself honest opportunities and tried to stretch myself.
In 2004, when this TV thing kind of started, it wasn’t intentional. It’s been a fortuitous and serendipitous series of events.
