4.4 /10 1 Votes
Country of origin United States Running time 60 minutes First episode date 27 September 2008 Presented by Mike Huckabee Networks Fox News, FOX | 4.4/10 IMDb No. of episodes 191 Original network Fox News Channel Final episode date 3 January 2015 Cast Mike Huckabee | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Original release September 27, 2008 – January 3, 2015 Similar Hannity, Justice with Judge Jeanine, Hannity & Colmes, Crossfire, The Cycle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Huckabee is a TV political commentary program on Fox News hosted by former Republican Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. It premiered September 27, 2008, at 8 PM EDT.
Contents
It was announced on January 3, 2015 that Huckabee would step down from hosting Huckabee to make a possible run in the 2016 presidential election; however, he said he would not make a decision until Spring 2015.
Schedule
Barring pre-emption, new episodes of Huckabee regularly aired on Saturdays at 8 PM ET. Repeats were shown on the following Sunday (the next day) at 3 AM, 8 PM and 11 PM ET.
Format
The show was shot before a live studio audience. Huckabee starts with an opening monologue discussing issues of the day, then opens the floor to field several questions from the audience. The show also features one or more guests as well as a panel of commentators.
Huckabee maintains a genial style as host and speaker, "markedly less combative" than other commentators on the Fox network. Tonal differences aside, he believes the show's conservative political content is harmonious with other Fox hosts past and present such as Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly, saying "I'm certainly on the same ideological spectrum" as them.
Elisabeth Hasselbeck was the show's first guest. Huckabee has interviewed political figures such as Karl Rove, Laura Bush, Michelle Obama, Geraldine Ferraro, Chuck Colson, Tom Ridge, Rod Blagojevich, Ed Rendell, Mike Rounds, Chuck Grassley, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Tom DeLay, Franklin Graham, Tim LaHaye, Arianna Huffington, Ann Coulter, and Alina Fernández; former head of the FDNY and NYPD Howard Safir; U.N. Ambassador John R. Bolton; former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani; former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich; former Secretaries of State Lawrence Eagleburger and Madeleine Albright; former Vice President Dan Quayle; former British Prime Minister Tony Blair; and Israel President Shimon Peres.
Celebrity interviews have included Raquel Welch, Robert Duvall, Jon Voight, Andy Williams, Richard Dreyfuss, Edward Norton, Bradley Cooper, Andie MacDowell, Kelsey Grammer, Andy García, David Schwimmer, Chuck Norris, Kathy Ireland, Joan Lunden, Lesley Stahl, Susan Powell, Gretchen Carlson, Katie Stam, Paula Deen, Bob Barker, Jerry Springer, Frank Caliendo, Tony Danza, The Amazing Kreskin, Jeff Garlin, Steve Schirripa, Vince Curatola, Charles Grodin, Mario Lopez, Zac Sunderland, Michael Strahan, Dennis Rodman, MC Hammer, Rosie Perez, Bernie Williams, Meat Loaf, Sam Moore, Neil Sedaka, Meryl Streep, Peter Noone, Wayne Newton, Rick Springfield, Pat Boone, Tanya Tucker, Lorrie Morgan, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Ted Nugent, Toby Keith, Collin Raye, Oak Ridge Boys, The Ventures, Katharine McPhee, Bo Bice, Kris Allen, and Don Francisco.
The show ends with a "house band" (named The Little Rockers; the name is a play on the Arkansas state capital where Huckabee once served) consisting of several Fox News staff performing a song, often featuring a well-known entertainer as the lead. Band members include host Huckabee on bass guitar, chief religious correspondent Lauren Green on keyboards, M and J Show video editor Dave Colonna on lead guitar, lighting technician Adrian Sharkey on vocals and guitar, M and J Show writer Bob Higgins on guitar, Fox News Edge PA Elizabeth Tucker on backup vocals, and final cut craft editor Dominic Salvatore on drums.
In some instances, the final segment featured Huckabee answering questions from e-mails or from the live studio audience.