Tonightly

Tonightly, which began a daily run on Friday, is the distant descendant of The 11 O'Clock Show, not much valued at the time but now hailed for giving early breaks to Ricky Gervais, Sacha Baron Cohen and Mackenzie Crook.

I tried, believe me, but I could not see any of this sample of what C4 is calling "Generation Next" entering their league. The most obvious, if minor, talent is its northern anchorman, Jason Manford, who sits behind a desk betraying amusement at his own monologue and congratulating his sidekick, Andi Osho, on her supposedly "great work, great work". The first edition was topical: much obsessed with gas bills and the acquittal of Barry George, whom Manford weirdly suggested would not be in a good mood.

Tonightly lacked edge and it lacked laughs. It has three weeks to find bothly.

Overall, this was a confident start to a project that I was admittedly predisposed to support. As long as the show really engages with whatever's in the newspapers, adds a bit of bite to the satire, and doesn't get tempted into retreating into the relatively safe environment of celebrity culture too often, then I'll be happy to follow the rest of Tonightly's 16-night run.

London Paper Preview

A topical half-hour comedy show with appearances from recurring spoof characters, a couple of hosts sitting at a desk cracking wise at the day's news, the very real chance of Ofcom complaints - and all of it taking place at 11pm on Channel 4. Sound familiar?

11 O'Clock Shadow

The Guardian asks why Channel 4 are trying to create a new version of The 11 O'Clock Show in the shape of Tonightly, when the original show was 'not necessarily a popular success'.