
Tavis Smiley features a unique mix of news and pop culture to combine for one thought-provoking and entertaining program. A hybrid of news, issues and entertainment, it features interviews with artists, activists, newsmakers, politicians and everyday people. Since its first season, the show has won four NAACP Image Awards for "Outstanding Television, News, Talk, or Information (Series or Special)." Taped at KCET studios, Tavis Smiley is the first West Coast talk show for PBS and is produced by The Smiley Group Inc./TS Media Inc. in association with KCET/Hollywood.
Episodes
Ran for 3 seasons and 605 episodes (2004 to 2014)
On Air with Ryan Seacrest2004Rating: 9.5 out of 10
The Rachel Maddow Show2008Rating: 5.9 out of 10
The Kelly Clarkson Show2019Rating: 6.3 out of 10
The Dick Cavett Show1968Rating: 6.8 out of 10
CBS News Sunday Morning1979Rating: 6.8 out of 10
Kids' Choice Awards1987Rating: 8.8 out of 10
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson1962Rating: 7.6 out of 10
Match of the Day1964Rating: 7.6 out of 10
Match of the Day 22004Rating: 7.0 out of 10
60 Minutes1968Rating: 6.6 out of 10
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?1999Rating: 6.3 out of 10
Talking Dead2011Rating: 7.2 out of 10
VICE News Tonight2016Rating: 6.7 out of 10
60 Minutes Australia1979Rating: 6.8 out of 10
8 Out of 10 Cats2005Rating: 7.2 out of 10
StarTalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson2015Rating: 6.7 out of 10
MTV Video Music Awards1984Rating: 7.8 out of 10
At the Movies1986Rating: 6.0 out of 10
Cobra Kai: Inside the Dojo2024Rating: 8.9 out of 10
Crisis Aftermath2019Rating: 8.1 out of 10Season 11, 129 episodes
Writer Samuel G. Freedman and former NFL quarterback James "Shack" Harris.
Tavis talks with Grammy Award–winning Beninoise singer-songwriter and activist Angélique Kidjo.
USC professor Robert English on the crisis in Ukraine. Also: actor and writer Steve Coogan.
A 2014 Academy Awards preview, featuring Oscar-nominated guests.
Tavis talks with Lawrence Brownlee and Shemekia Copeland.
The allegation that the CIA searched Senate computers is discussed. Also: Marlee Matlin.
Journalist Elizabeth Kolbert ("The Sixth Extinction"); comedian Greg Edwards.
Author Peniel E. Joseph ("Stokely: A Life"); Martina McBride.
Bruce Jones (Brookings Institution); Dulé Hill and James Roday ("Pysch").
Author Miriam Pawel ("The Crusades of Cesar Chavez"); Stanley Jordan.
Immigration issues are discussed with undocumented activist Erika Andiola and Marielena Hincapié? (National Immigration Law Center). Also: Nathan East.
Author Saladin Ambar ("Malcolm X at Oxford Union"); Zucchero Fornaciari.
The real-life hero of Hotel Rwanda, Paul Rusesabagina, reflects on his experience, 20 years ago, during one of the worst mass slaughters in modern history.
Gayle Tzemach Lemmon (Council on Foreign Relations); hip-hop music artist Christylez Bacon.
Sociologist Katherine S. Newman ("The Accordion Family"); composer Hafez Nazeri.
Ed Catmull (Disney and Pixar Animation Studios); Tatiana Maslany.
Environmental scientist Ken Caldeira (Stanford); author Philip Yancey ("The Jesus I Never Knew").
The crisis in Ukraine is discussed with Robert English (USC School of International Relations). Also: Daniel Beaty.
Tavis talks with Economist Joseph E. Stiglitz and Ian Somerhalder.
Author Barbara Ehrenreich ("Living With a Wild God: A Nonbeliever's Search for the Truth About Everything"}.
Economist William Easterly; L.A. Opera music director James Conlon.
Author Sylvia Longmire ("Border Insecurity"); Harry Hamlin.
Vermont governor Peter Shumlin; Ken Cook (Environmental Working Group).
Journalist Jonathan M. Katz ("The Big Truck That Went By"); Connie Britton.
The abducted girls in Nigeria are discussed with journalist Omoyele Sowore and Amber Khan (Women for Women International).
Author Nell Bernstein ("Burning Down the House: The End of Juvenile Prison"); Ed O'Neill.
A tribute to Maya Angelou (1928-2014). Also: Ziggy Marley.
Elizabeth Kolbert ("The Sixth Extinction"); Daniel Beaty.
Peniel E. Joseph ("Stokely: A Life"); Tatiana Maslany.
Immigration reform is discussed with Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Cal.) and Jersey Vargas, a 10-year-old California girl whose father faces deportation.
Author Nomi Prins ("All the Presidents' Bankers"); Noah Wyle.
Educator-civil rights activist Bob Moses; documentarian Stanley Nelson ("Freedom Summer").
One of the most famous chefs in the world, whose innovations have come to define modern American cooking, offers tips for losing weight and feeling energetic.
Sociologist Jennifer Lee (UC Irvine); John Lloyd Young.
Paul Rieckhoff (Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America); bluesman Robert Cray.
Tavis talks with Ron Capps, founder of the Veterans Writing Project, and with 10-time Grammy-winning trumpet legend Arturo Sandoval.
Tavis talks with six-time Emmy-nominated British actor and musician Hugh Laurie.
Tavis talks with best-selling authors Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner and with an original Dreamgirl, Jennifer Holliday.
Tavis talks with former astronaut Buzz Aldrin and with Chaz Ebert about the documentary on her late husband, entitled Life Itself.
Tavis talks with Michael Levi and Elizabeth Economy about their text on China and with award-winning singer-songwriter Yuna.
Journalist Alex Tizon ("Big Little Man: In Search of My Asian Self"); Sister Simone Campbell, the executive director of NETWORK.
Neurologist Stanley B. Prusiner ("Madness and Memory"); Demián Bichir.
