Taping Date: November 7th, 2019
Air Date: Live
Where to get tickets: https://1iota.com
In November 2019, I had the opportunity to be in the studio audience for a live taping of Live with Kelly and Ryan. On the weekend before our trip to New York City, I checked with 1iota to see if they had any tickets available for the time we’d be in the city. I noticed that Live with Kelly and Ryan had some standby tickets available for Nov 7th, while the rest of the week was sold out. I requested 3 tickets for my parents and me, and within an hour received an email that we had been confirmed.
Arriving at the WABC Studios
While the tickets advised to be at the studios by 7:45am, we made sure to arrive earlier, around 7am. There were two lines, a VIP line and a general admission line. We joined the general admission line and chatted with some of the people around us. Around 8am, they brought the front of the line into the lobby of the building, but the lobby wasn’t big enough for everyone. We continued to wait outside, but it was fortunately a nice day. We grabbed some coffees at a local cart.
Around 8:30am, a camera crew came outside and Ryan Seacrest came out to film a short promo for the show. He walked along the line as he spoke about who would be on the show. This is when we learned that Kelly Ripa was away on jury duty, and Elizabeth Banks would be filling in as guest host.
Entering the Studio
After he finished, the audience in the lobby was seated, so they brought the rest of us in. Fortunately the security team was both friendly and efficient. We got through very quickly and were seated in the front row of the balcony. These seats were actually quite good, as we didn’t have cameras blocking our views the way the lower seats would.
As I looked around, I was surprised at how long and narrow the studio was. To the right of the host’s seats, there was a small area with the shows logo. To the left was an area that looked like it could be used for musical performances, but for this show, extra seats were set up. There was also monitors above all the seats so we could see how the show was appearing on TV.
Before the show began, a comedian came out to welcome us to the show and get everyone ready. After her, executive producer Michael Gelman came out to speak to everyone. He explained a bit about how the show works, and then held a quick dance competition to determine who would appear on the show.
The Show
As the show started, Ryan Seacrest and Elizabeth Banks made their entrance by the shows logo, and then took their seats at the center table.
The only time we were seen on camera was at the start, as the camera panned over the audience, including those of us in the balcony.
The show always starts with some chit-chat about things in the news and the upcoming guests.
The first guest was John Cena, who was promoting his new film. When he entered, a young girl had a bouquet of flowers for him. The second guest was Darcy Miller, who was talking about different holiday drinks you could offer at a party.
The show ended with Ryan and Elizabeth back at their table talking. The whole show went by quickly, and was really interesting to watch how they do it. Both hosts interacted with the audience quite a bit, which was nice.
Some videos from that episode are available here on the Live website.
Photos
One unique aspect to this show is that we were allowed to take photos. It is very rare. Most TV tapings I’ve attended don’t allow any photos, such as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. When I went to The Talk, they allowed photos in the studio, but only prior to the show starting. Live with Kelly and Ryan was the only show I’ve been to that allowed photos throughout the show.
After the show ended and the hosts left, they even allowed the audience to take photos on the set. This was a really cool bonus, and made the experience a lot more interactive. If you get the chance, I’d highly recommend trying to come to a show.
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