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Nightline
2005- [New Format]
SERIES: ABC, Weekdays 11:35p (30 minutes)

2.0 based on 10 reviews read critic reviews how did we calculate this? based on 6 votes read user comments rate this tv show

• Official Show Site

Starring Cynthia McFadden, Martin Bashir, and Terry Moran

For its post-Ted Koppel experiment, the veteran late-night ABC news show now boasts more and shorter stories per half hour, and a group of three anchors to replace the departed host.

GENRE(S):	News & Talk
FIRST AIR DATE:	November 28, 2005

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

70

Newsday Verne Gay

The debut telecast offered nothing that will offend that dwindling band of true believers, although it wasn't entirely clear how the new edition will add to their ranks either.

60

Boston Globe Joanna Weiss

What's missing most from the new ''Nightline" is the thing that's most irreplaceable: a familiar voice that can be trusted implicitly.

60

Los Angeles Times Paul Brownfield

It's just a respectable if slightly overheated newsmagazine now, well produced, with good bookings.

50

The New York Times Alessandra Stanley

The new "Nightline" isn't terrible, and some of the more recent segments have been quite good. But over all, the revised show is surprisingly ordinary, a flimsy, fast-moving magazine show like "20/20" that omits the kind of sustained, intelligent inquiry that turned Mr. Koppel's "Nightline" into a landmark.

50

USA Today Robert Bianco

Something extraordinary has been replaced by the commonplace.

50

New York Daily News David Hinckley

Dividing the "Nightline" turf by half, rather than thirds, would be a better compromise, if the new regime is insistent on picking up the pace. [30 Nov 2005, p.95]

40

Baltimore Sun David Zurawik

A stylistic marriage of prime-time newsmagazines and MTV, this hyped-up, neon-lit news program seems like the last thing one would want to see before trying to fall asleep.

40

Hollywood Reporter Barry Garron

The quality of the reporting has taken a hit.

40

TV Guide Matt Roush

The new Nightline isn’t terrible, but it no longer seems as essential because it feels so much less distinctive.

30

Washington Post Tom Shales

The late-night news program now is simply more about style than content, and the style isn't all that special.

The average user rating for this tv show is 2.0 (out of 10) based on 6 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Pure Crap gave it a0:
People are getting killed and they're wasting airtime on a polar bear. Gutted and sad, another blight on the vast TV wasteland.

Nancy B gave it a2:
Compared to the original Nightline, the new Nightline is a real disappointment. The coverage of news is shallow and short, it varies between infotainment and brief news reports without theserious news analysis that was the hallmark of Ted Koppel's nightline.

Mike L gave it a0:
The new format sucks.. Pure Fluff.

[Anonymous] gave it a3:
The quality of the show has just been obliterated. I think ABC execs just wanted to make it easier to get rid of the show. I wanted to support and wanted to keep watching, but I can't. If I wanted to see that drivel, I would've watched to Primetime Live. But I didn't. Because it wasn't adding new knowledge to my life or making me think. I really think they should've kept the old format, amped up the graphics in they wanted to, and rotated Chris Bury, Terry Moran and McFadden or whoever else each night. Oh, and Martin Bashir is a joke. ABC please rectify and bring back a news show worth watching.

Christian V gave it a3:
The slow-paced, thoughtful "Nightline" of yore has been replaced by a frenzied, hot-topic-of-the-moment newsmag. It's so off-putting at 11:30 at night, when I prefer a gentler, bedtime-story approach. No thanks, PrimetimeNightline2020LateNight. Ted, I'll follow you to NPR and Discovery Channel.

[Anonymous] gave it a4:
The "New Nightline" appears to be little more than a shortened version of Prime Time Live or 20/20. It lacks anything "signature" and, with several segments a night, subjects get short shrift and topics only surface treatment at best. The entire show feels rushed. Nightline would be well served to move to the old format, perhaps with the rotating anchors (and maybe on the 4th night a roundtable or something that can utilize all three anchors). Going back to the long format would enable more in-depth pieces, it would enable people to spend longer with each anchor (and thus get to know them and increased the likelihood of their getting attached to them), and it would not be quite as much of a shock to the system to those who have watched Nightline since its inception.

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