NBC has solved its late-night host issues. Forget Jay Leno. Who needs Conan O’Brien? NBC has a new star who gets good ratings and puts together a consistently entertaining show. Her name is Mary Carillo.
Carillo has a great sense of humor and the interviewing skills of an investigative reporter, making her a natural anchor for NBC’s late-night Olympics coverage. She also is serving as a features reporter in Vancouver.
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JW » I recall a conversation we had after you had eaten deep fried bugs in Beijing. You told me it scored you big points with your children and their classmates. Did your feature on the polar bears score you any points?
Carillo » My son is studying acting in England, so he hasn’t been watching any of the Olympics. He doesn’t even own a TV — getting used to the life of a Spartan stage actor. But my daughter definitely liked the polar bear feature. She was especially pleased that after the story ran and we gave the Polar Bear International Web site, it got so many hits that it crashed. … In Beijing I got to see panda bears; in Canada, polars. I’m hoping I can go for the time-honored triple crown of bears — nail down Paddington in London 2012.
JW » You do the Olympics and Wimbledon for NBC. Which do you enjoy the most?
Carillo » A Wimbledon final is … a thrill for me, even now after all these years. What’s different is that tennis is a sport I’m fluent in — the only one — and I have a pretty good sense of what could happen, what the variables may be, the psychology of the match the strengths and vulnerabilities of the players. There’s a comfort level there. … At something like the Olympics, especially the Winter Games, where so many events are susceptible to weather conditions, equipment adjustments, ancient national rivalries, it’s a much different assignment requiring far different muscles. It changes all the time. So many things [are] coming at you at once.
JW » What are your favorite sports to watch at the Winter Games?
Carillo » I’ve always loved skiing, but since hosting a show called “Olympic Ice” in Torino, I’ve become a huge figure skating fan. I’m not out at the arena this time around, but I watch from the IBC, and sometimes when I’m doing something else I’ll quickly know the skating is on or the half pipe or the downhill because I’ll hear a huge cheer or a tremendous collective groan rumble through the building. I’ll flip on the screen in my room. There’s a seven-second delay. I search for the right channel, and there it is. Someone’s just won gold or lost it — someone’s life just changed. … Is this a fun job or what?”
Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer. Check out his blog, Watch this!, on washingtonexaminer.com.
