About the Show

Quick Facts

• Format: National late-night talk show
• Length: 30 minutes
• Network: PBS
• Airtimes: Varies, check local listings
• Filming Location: Los Angeles, CA; first West Coast talk show for PBS
• Premiere Date: January 2004
• Awards:2008 NAACP Image Award Outstanding Talk – (Series)
  • 2007 NAACP Image Outstanding News, Talk or Information – (Series or Special)
  • 2006 NAACP Image Award Outstanding TV News, Talk or Information (Series or
  • 2005 NAACP Image Award Outstanding Television News, Talk or Information (Series or Special)
• Produced by: TS Media, Inc.

About the Show

TAVIS SMILEY is a unique hybrid of news, issues and entertainment, featuring interviews with politicians, entertainers, athletes, authors and other newsmakers. Tavis Smiley was recently named to TIME‘s list of 100 “Most Influential People in the World.”

TAVIS SMILEY is produced by The Smiley Group, Inc./TS Media, Inc.

Major funding is provided by Walmart.

The 30-minute program airs weeknights on PBS. Get local listings and watch past episodes.

Though schedules do change, you will find Tavis at these times in these major cities:

• WNET/New York: 1PM and 12AM
• KOCE/Southern California: 11PM
• WTTW/Chicago: 1AM Monday–Thursday, 1:30AM Friday
• WHYY/Philadelphia: 11:30PM
• KERA/Dallas: 1AM
• WGBH/Boston: 12:30AM
• GPB/Atlanta: 11:00PM
• WETA/Washington, DC: 12AM
• KUHT/Houston: 12:30AM

About Tavis

From his celebrated conversations with world figures, to his work to inspire the next generation of leaders, as a broadcaster, author, publisher, advocate and philanthropist, Tavis Smiley continues to be an outstanding voice for change. Smiley is currently the host of the late-night television talk show Tavis Smiley on PBS and The Tavis Smiley Show from Public Radio International (PRI). Alongside his abiding friend, Dr. Cornel West, Smiley is also co-host of the intellectually energetic radio program Smiley and West, also from PRI.

In 2010, Smiley left his studio chair in Los Angeles to go on the road with TAVIS SMILEY REPORTS, his primetime specials on PBS, which examine some of the country’s most defining moments. The reports included going behind the scenes with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, examining one of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s greatest speeches, “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence;” traveling to the streets of New Orleans to mark Hurricane Katrina’s fifth anniversary; and a profile of renowned conductor Gustavo Dudamel.

In 2007, Smiley made television history as the moderator and executive producer of the All-American Presidential Forums on PBS, the first primetime television Democratic and Republican presidential debates with panels exclusively comprised of journalists of color.

In addition to his radio and television work, Smiley has authored 15 books. His memoir, What I Know For Sure: My Story of Growing Up in America, became a New York Times best seller, and the book he edited, Covenant with Black America, became the first nonfiction book by a Black-owned publisher to reach #1 on The New York Times best-sellers list.

In his latest book, FAIL UP: 20 Lessons on Building Success from Failure, Smiley steps from behind the curtain of success to recount 20 instances of perceived “failures” that were actually pivotal “life lessons.”

An avid reader committed to presenting America with stories from many different voices, he founded SmileyBooks as a co-publishing venture with Hay House, Inc. From established New York Times best-selling authors to exciting new voices, SmileyBooks covers topics that appeal to a broad spectrum of readers. Titles are published in hardcover, trade paperback and digital media, offering the widest possible readership and exposure.

TIME magazine honored Smiley in 2009 as one of “The World’s 100 Most Influential People.” The annual list profiles men and women whose power, talent or moral example has made a significant difference in the world.

In 2009, Smiley released STAND, his first documentary film, which he directed, wrote and produced. STAND shares the experiences of Smiley and 10 Black male friends during a special road trip through Memphis and Nashville. The friends explore the impact of the civil rights movement and the role and relationships of Black men in America against the backdrop of the 2008 presidential race and the 40th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination.

Smiley is the presenter and creative force behind America I AM: The African American Imprint. This unprecedented four-year national traveling museum exhibition, which debuted in January 2009,  celebrates the extraordinary impact of African American contributions to our nation and the world, as told through rare artifacts, memorabilia and multimedia.

Smiley’s most gratifying accomplishments are rooted in his passion to inspire the next generation of leaders. The nonprofit Tavis Smiley Foundation was established to provide leadership training and development for youth. Since its inception, more than 6,000 young people have participated in the foundation’s Youth to Leaders training workshops and conferences.

Smiley is head of his own media conglomerate, The Smiley Group, Inc., which is dedicated to supporting human rights and related empowerment issues and serves as the holding company for various enterprises encompassing broadcast and print media, lectures, symposiums, a film production company and a speaker’s bureau that represents top influencers and thought-leaders.

Smiley’s achievements have earned him numerous awards and honorary doctorate degrees, including one from his alma mater, Indiana University. In 2009, the university also named the atrium of its School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) building, “The Tavis Smiley Atrium.” In addition, he is the recipient of the prestigious Du Bois Medal from Harvard University and the 2009 Interdependence Day Prize from Demos in Istanbul, Turkey.

2011 marked Smiley’s 20th year in broadcasting, a platform he continues to use to inspire, educate and inform in love and service.

What People Are Saying About TAVIS SMILEY…

Jay Leno of The Tonight Show dubbed him “the king of late night public television.”

The Los Angeles Times says he’s on the “fast track, left lane.”

The New York Post screamed, “Look out Larry King—here comes Tavis Smiley!”

The Washington Post declared that he’s “winning friends and influencing people.”

The Philadelphia Inquirer says Smiley is “one of the most important political voices of his generation.”

Cleveland’s The Plain Dealer summed up Tavis’ appeal best: “In the age of high-decibel, in-your-face talk shows, Tavis Smiley keeps the volume low and the content high. He also gets the best guests in broadcasting—presidents, the pope, A-list entertainers. Smiley’s style of easy and engaging conversation makes them all feel comfortable. And it works.”

Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Daily News columnist E.R. Shipp writes: “He does what too little of talk radio or television does these days: conducts civil conversations with a broad spectrum of politicians, newsmakers, performers and writers in a forum where one first has to declare one’s political alliances. He’s comfortable with conservatives, liberals and the undeclared; with the profound and the profane, with elder statesmen and the hip-hop nation. With such stratification in the country, he provides one place that helps promote dialogues that might not otherwise take place before audiences who might not otherwise think that they have anything in common.”

Vanity Fair inducted him into its Hall of Fame.