You can forget the cigarette. But we’ll see whether Charlie Rose or Lara Logan pay homage to Edward R. Murrow’s famous interview series by showing up in Seville Row tailored suits — and ending each broadcast with “Good night, and good luck.” CBS says that the new show will hearken back to the original by taking viewers into the homes of notable people, and frequently letting them lead the discussion. Here’s the release:
CBS News will revive its iconic franchise, PERSON TO PERSON, it was announced today by CBS News Chairman and 60 MINUTES Executive Producer Jeff Fager and David Rhodes, President, CBS News. The broadcast, based on the ground-breaking interview series created by news legend Edward R. Murrow, will begin Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2012 (8:00 PM ET/PT). CBS THIS MORNING co-host Charlie Rose and CBS News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent and 60 MINUTES Correspondent Lara Logan have been named co-hosts of the series. In addition to her duties as Executive Producer of 48 HOURS MYSTERY and Special Projects, Susan Zirinsky will serve as Executive Producer, as will Judy Tygard, Senior Producer of 48 HOURS and Special Projects.
“We have dreamed about bringing a modern version of this great program, PERSON TO PERSON, back to CBS for years – and now it is happening,” said Fager. “It is an exciting new development for us, particularly because it will be led by two of our most accomplished producers and two of our best interviewers.”
“PERSON TO PERSON is about original reporting on extraordinary people,” said Rhodes. “Charlie and Lara are the perfect team to carry forward this storied franchise.”
“Charlie Rose and Lara Logan are two of the most respected television journalists of our time,” said Zirinsky. “Charming and personable conversationalists in their own right, they are ideally suited to uncover the personal side of the people who are shaping our lives today.”
“Building on the legacy of CBS News, we will present a broadcast that is both entertaining and insightful,” said Tygard. “It will provide a refreshing glimpse into the lives of the legends of today.”
PERSON TO PERSON will retain many of the elements that made the original so captivating. Co-hosts Rose and Logan will bring viewers into the private homes of public people – musical artists, actors, directors, political leaders and newsmakers. The freedom and spontaneity of the format will allow guests to introduce friends and family members and show off items of personal or professional significance. Guests will effectively lead the discussion as the cameras capture unexpectedly vivid and touching revelations. Conversation will be the primary focus, distinguishing the series from more traditional interview programs and news magazines. Guests for the premiere broadcast and the schedule for other broadcasts will be announced at a later date.
CBS News made television history in 1953, when Murrow began taking viewers into the homes of people whose names continue to resonate today: John and Jacqueline Kennedy, Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, Harry Truman, Fidel Castro and John Steinbeck. Viewers saw Robert Kennedy soothing his young children, who had stayed awake long past their bedtimes especially for the broadcast; they also saw Marlon Brando playing bongos with a friend and Sammy Davis, Jr. polishing dance moves. In 2012, PERSON TO PERSON will make history for a new generation of viewers.



Hopefully it will focus less on celebrity back-patting and more on real news makers.
Murrow’s Person to Person was completely scripted, like most reality TV today so I expect more of the same with the new show.
PLEASE NO KARDASHIANS!!!!
According to the movie, “Good Night and Good Luck” Murrow hated doing “Person to Person” but had to do it for two reasons: 1) He needed the money because he didn’t make much. 2) He was forced to do it to make up for the fact that he took on Joseph McCarthy on, “See It Now.”
Charlie Rose is great. Intelligent,erudite. Lara Logan is another story. She is unwatchable. I fully expect her to ask her usual idiotic,sophmoric questions like “what is your favorite color ?”
Her segments on 60 Minutes are painfully BAD. I remember especially well her silly questions to Jane Goodall recently.
There are questions and there are questions. “Idiotic sophomoric questions” do have their own place and usefulness. They bring Fun and personal quirkiness and spontaneity into an interview. You do not want to only hear the intellectual side in an interview but also emotional nuances. An Interview should be a rounded thing that appeals to much more than just the intellect.
Both Rose and Logan are excellent interviewers. I look forward to this show, though I do hope the viewer advice of “please no Kardashians” and the “focus on real news makers, not celebrity back-patting” are heeded.
I’ll be watching.
Must we listen to Logan’s scratchy, terrible voice and to Rose interrupting people with school boy golly goo right at the moment they reveal truth and depth? HELP!
I watch Charlie Rose show on Hulu.com all the time. I have discovered him in the last year and a half and have so much appreciated his program. I learnt a lot from his shows in all kind of fields. He had all kinds of people. And the brain series where fascinating. I am concerned that the quality of the show he will be doing will not match up with his show on PBS. It seems to me almost as if he moved from a private school to a public one. I am curious to know why: did Charlie Rose feel stagnant and wanted a change or was it for the money (which i would not believe the latter being the reason). I may check out the new show but I suspect it will not grab me at the level of Charlie Rose’s present show.
I am dismayed, disappointed and sad. I cannot imagine who will take over the Charlie Rose show and keep up the quality of the interviews. Is his present show, you feel that you have secretly dropped in on a personal interview between two people – almost like being the fly on the wall ’cause they were always so intimate and real.
Arright, I said my peace. I wish everyone well. I guessd the only constant is change. But I still feel very sad!