It appears that MTV is finally wising up and realizing that to bring 'Total Request Live' back from the dead, you need a video countdown along with it.... sort of.
Deadline reported this week that despite rumors of the new iteration already being cancelled because of a few hiatuses the show has taken, the network actually has so much faith in the project that it is going to up the ante and bring us *THREE* versions of TRL a DAY!
The network announced that in addition to the afternoon TRL, we will also be getting 'Total Request A.M.', along with a more permanent 'Total Request LateNight', which apparently, has already been airing on Mondays and Tuesdays at 11pm since February. Who knew!
The afternoon version has been on a hiatus, and was originally planned to return this past Monday, April 9th, but they now want to launch it alongside the new morning version. That being said, both the launch of the morning version and the return of the afternoon version will both launch on Monday, April 23rd. The network also revealed that that the late night edition will expand to three nights in the summer, and by four nights by the end of the year. The afternoon version will also be supersized, going from a half-hour to TWO HOURS, airing from 3-5 p.m.
Now what is this so-called 'Total Request A.M.?' You were promised news on a music video countdown. Well, the afternoon version, despite jumping to two hours, doesn't appear to be adding a countdown at this moment. HOWEVER, the new morning version sounds the closest thing to the old TRL as we'll get. It'll even be hosted by MTV legend Sway Calloway!
Deadline reports that the morning version, will be "very music-driven with limited commercials, musical performances, celebrity interviews, and a music video countdown."
YES. FINALLY. I'm not even sure if this will be a Top 3, Top 5, or Top 10. They'll probably only air 20 seconds of the video, and since most of TRL's audience has school or jobs, I'm not sure who will even be watching this. But you can bet that I will make sure I can view this iteration somehow, despite the fact that when I watched the afternoon version's premiere week in October, it was a total disaster. Anything with Sway is already 150x more legit, right?
We'll keep you updated on how it goes -- the bottom is already so low that it HAS to exceed expectations... right?