Katie Couric’s New Talk Show

Katie Couric embraces her Katie side: “This is not my first rodeo”

Her new program may carry her name, but Katie Couric maintains “it isn’t all about me.”

The television veteran is following her tenures as co-anchor of NBC’s Today and anchor and managing editor of CBS Evening News with her own talk show, as the syndicated Katie begins its weekday run Monday, Sept. 10.

Many days, the hour will deal with one topic, and two or three on other days . . . but Couric says the entire series will reflect her desire for “smart conversation” about widely relatable subjects she has her own experiences with, from caring for an aging parent to learning about cancer.

“There are no guarantees in this business,” she says during a one-on-one chat in Los Angeles, “but I do think Jeff (Zucker, the show’s executive producer and former NBC programming chief who also collaborated with Couric on Today) and I do have a good track record. We work really well together, and I hope when people hear our names, they’ll think about quality television – and a certain sensibility and approach that is intelligent.”

An extremely rare talk-show appearance by Barbra Streisand will be in the Katie mix; Sheryl Crow, the composer-performer of the show’s theme song, is on the premiere. However, Couric also is eager to showcase achievements of people not as famous.

“I’ve always been drawn to stories of everyday people who have overcome obstacles in their lives and have been put in situations they never envisioned — and have been able to get to the other side,” she says. “Those are some of the most memorable interviews for me and, I think, some of the most moving for an audience.”

Katie Stands Out in a Crowded Genre

The field of new syndicated talk fare is crowded: Ricki Lake returns to the genre and “Survivor” host Jeff Probst launches his show the same day Katie premieres, and comedian Steve Harvey has had a one-week jump on them. Couric brings the longest TV history, though, and most definitely her singular brand. She displayed it very personally while spending much of the summer visiting many of the markets and stations that will carry Katie.

“I’ve been racking up a lot of frequent-flier miles,” she says, “but it’s been really fun. I have a lot of respect for local news; I did it myself for a number of years (in Miami and Washington, D.C.), and the stations I’m going to be on are great. I feel very flattered that they’re welcoming me into their homes in a way, and it’s important for me to know their people so we can feel connected.”

For all the milestones she’s had, Couric reasons the launch of Katie is “its own animal. This is not my first rodeo, and I’m not the fresh-faced young woman I was when I was named co-anchor of Today. That was probably one of the watershed moments of my career, because I never in a million years envisioned having that job. It seemed surreal to me, but going into the talk show genre seems like a very natural progression of events for me.”

With any move she makes, Couric has two other people to consider – Ellie and Carrie, her daughters by her late husband, attorney Jay Monahan – and she says they’re all for her new show.

“I’ve always prided myself on the fact that the person I am off camera is the same person I am on camera, and I think they’re excited for me to have a venue where I can show off the many different sides of who I am, from the serious to the ridiculous. I think they see this as an exciting next step.”