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Talk show guests are a critical and classic part of the wider entertainment ecosystem.
From the earliest days of radio, the ability to broadcast conversations with notable individuals has played an important role in shaping public opinion, forming shared cultural memories, and—of course—advertising. Now, in the age of social and streaming media, the call for talk show guests continues to expand.
In this post, we’ll walk you through the basics of booking talk show guests by using a Talk Show Appearance Agreement. We’ll break down what an agreement should look like, when it should be used, and how to use it as part of an effective communication strategy.
Before we jump into our breakdown, take a moment to download our free Talk Show Appearance Agreement template.
This template will give you a head start in creating agreements of your own. You can easily customize it to meet your unique requirements or simply use it to follow along with this post.
Obviously, Talk Show Appearance Agreements are necessary any time that you’re booking talk show guests, but the simplicity of that idea conceals an important question.
What really counts as a talk show guest?
Thanks to both the wide variety and mass quantity of media produced in today’s market, the concept of a talk show guest is arguably more diverse and less rigidly defined than ever before. To help you cut through the noise, here are five common situations in which a production should use some form of Talk Show Appearance Agreement.
Anytime that a person appears for an interview or conversation on a live or pre-recorded talk show, you can bet that you’ll need a proper agreement. This would include any of the classic morning shows, late-night shows, or midday talk shows that you’d find on a major broadcast network.
Whether it’s a head of state or a breakout pop star, high-profile talk show guests always require a well-designed Talk Show Appearance Agreement. The value of their public image increases the importance of the protections afforded by a contract.
When discussing topics that are sensitive or controversial, a Talk Show Appearance Agreement can be a helpful tool for communicating the scope of the conversation in advance. It allows both the show to set both boundaries and expectations.
Talk show guests are often the equivalent of product placement in interview programming. They are brought onto the show for entertainment, but they’re also there to promote something.
Talk Show Appearance Agreements can help to manage the inclusion of commercial or promotional content into the show’s format. Whether it’s an upcoming book, movie, brand partnership, or non-profit initiative, an agreement provides a means for balancing promotion and pure entertainment.
As with talent releases and model releases, it’s important to form a contract with anyone who you’re paying to appear on a talk show. If you’re paying a guest, their Talk Show Appearance Agreement is where you’ll clearly define the terms of their compensation, work expectations, and any other conditions necessary.
Just like any other contract type, the exact terms of a Talk Show Appearance Agreement can be extensively modified to meet the unique requirements of any given situation. However, there are some features that might be considered standard.
In general, a Talk Show Appearance Agreement typically covers the following:
Participation details are the essential facts regarding your talk show guests’ involvement with the program. At minimum, you’ll want to include any relevant dates, times, and locations of appearance.
Any Talk Show Appearance Agreement should thoroughly outline the usage rights granted by the guest as well as any agreed-upon limitations set by either party.
This follows the same fundamental principle as a talent release. Your production needs permission to legally use someone’s name, image, voice, or any other personally identifiable feature. The agreement acts as proof of that permission.
It’s important to establish the ownership and usage of any intellectual property generated by a talk show guest’s appearance. The IP in question might be an interview, performance, or some other material. Regardless, the production will want to clearly reserve any rights to using the material for future profit, promotion, or other purpose.
A liability release is usually a clause within the talk show appearance agreement that waives a guest’s right to hold a show, network, or affiliates responsible for any damages connected to their appearance. For producers and production companies, collecting appropriate liability releases is an essential component of responsible risk management.
A Talk Show Appearance Agreement should contain language that requires certain elements of a talk show guest’s experience to remain confidential. This could refer to anything from sensitive personal information to secret project details that the production does not want to make public before release.
Confidentiality may be established within a Talk Show Appearance Agreement, or in some cases, with a separate Non-Disclosure Agreement.
The most appealing parts of an average talk show are the people that do all the talking. It only makes sense then that networks want to use the appearances of various talk show guests for promotional purposes. A well-designed Talk Show Appearance Agreement will define the extent to which that promotion can happen.
A Talk Show Appearance Agreement should define any payment or other compensation that talk show guests will receive in return for their appearances. This minimizes the risk of unnecessary disagreements or legal actions after the fact.
Don’t forget that Talk Show Appearance Agreements are not a one-size-fits-all contract. There should always be room for miscellaneous terms that might impact a specific appearance. If your talk show guests insist upon red M&Ms in their green room, it might be worth mentioning in their Appearance Agreement.
Talk shows often employ a designated team or individual for booking talk show guests. They may be a specific crew member known as a “booker” or they may be part of a production’s casting department.
The responsibilities of a booker tend to include:
Note that a booker’s role is slightly more specialized than that of a casting director or coordinator. The job dictates that bookers also act as liaisons between talk show guests and the production, which often requires a wider skillset.
For the show’s benefit as well as their own, talk show guests should be fully informed about the details of their appearance ahead of time. The most crucial information may vary from guest to guest, but the fundamental points will often remain the same.
Here are ten basic items that a production should always communicate with talk show guests:
Talk show guests deserve to know what they’re getting into. If a guest is not already familiar with a show, it is the production’s duty to inform them about its format, content, and tone.
Some of this is logistical by nature. For example, consider a late-night show where the guest is expected to sit down for an informal interview then participate in a game or other activity.
While it may be necessary to keep some details under wraps for the sake of fun, transparency is generally the best policy. If your planned activity involves surprise spiders and the guest has secret arachnophobia, you—and everyone else involved— will regret not talking about the activity in advance.
A similar principle can be applied to communicating a show’s content and tone. If you want to have a serious chat about a famous comedian’s traumatic years in clown school, you have a responsibility to let them know. Unless your talk show is taking a hard turn into investigative journalism, it’s not a good look to blindside your guests.
Talk show guests should understand who watches your program. This is particularly true for live and informal interviews, in which conversation may range beyond the predictive predilections of cue cards or outlines.
The primary reason for communicating this information is to give your guests the information they need to tailor their content. Mature themes and explicit language are totally acceptable on some shows, but many others have limitations of varying degrees. Even the jokes on a relatively tame late-night show might not be permissible for a morning or midday talk show on the same network.
The last thing a production wants is a guest who fails to show up at the right place, at the right time, or on the right day. Talk show guests and their representatives should be thoroughly informed of any important logistical details relevant to their appearance.
The communication of appearance logistics is also the perfect opportunity to pursue confirmation of those same appearance logistics. If a guest confirms that they understand the production’s requirements, they’re more likely to work within them.
Like it or not, the unexpected happens all the time. No matter how thorough your preparations, you will eventually run into a guest who has to cancel or reschedule their appearance for one reason or another. In that event, your best course of action will be to have an adequate procedure for cancellation or postponement already in place.
Of course, an established process is only as effective as a person’s ability to utilize it. While you cannot ensure that a guest will follow all the rules, you can maximize the likelihood that they’ll do so when it counts. To minimize the risks of a sudden dropout, always communicate your cancellation and postponement procedures with talk show guests in advance.
Talk show guests can serve many purposes. They might be scheduled as an entertainer, a thought leader, an educator, an expert, a spokesperson, or any other role that a show requires.
However, many public figures can fill multiple roles. For example, you could certainly book Seth Rogen as a writer or comedian, but you could just as easily book him as a spokesperson for Alzheimer’s research.
To help guests appropriately tailor their content, clarify both their role and your expectations for their appearance ahead of time. Be as specific as possible and listen to their feedback. Effective communication early on will lead to a more engaging appearance later.
One of the keys to a good interview is preparation. You should discuss any necessary research or background with your guests during the booking process, particularly if you’re bringing them onto your show as an expert.
Note that this discussion should be a two-way street. As an expert in their field, the guest may be able to point you to valuable sources of information that the production can use to improve the segment in which the guest will appear.
A production may want some talk show guests to participate in promotional activities. In some cases, this promotion could amount to an informal shout-out on social media. In others, promotional activities could be set as a contractual obligation.
Promotional obligations are often a win-win. For example, a movie star might post about a talk show appearance in which they primarily talk about their upcoming movie. They’re promoting the show, yes, but they’re also promoting their film.
However, a production should never take a guest’s promotional participation for granted. It may be necessary to negotiate for specified terms.
If you’re going to be paying your talk show guests, you’ll need to communicate that payment in advance and include any negotiated sums in their Talk Show Appearance Agreement.
While that may come as no surprise, you should also remember to discuss any other relevant forms of compensation. A production may elect to cover travel costs, accommodations, per diem, or other expenses. When negotiating a talk show appearance agreement, you should outline exactly what items will be covered and how the production will cover them.
Ask your talk show guests if they’ll require or prefer any special accommodations. That may include accommodations for accessibility, which are critical, but guest requests could also range further afield.
For example, if Beyoncé is scheduled to appear on your show, her very presence will require additional security and logistic measures. Alternatively, if a university professor is scheduled to appear for a science demonstration, they may require the purchase of specialized materials or equipment. While you may not be able to grant every request, active and open discussion will always help you reach the best possible compromise.
If you’ve ever worked as an assistant director, you likely understand the perils of mismanaged lines of communication all too well. When working with talk show guests, it is imperative that you clearly establish a primary point of contact early on.
If information is given to and received from one place, then the risk of miscommunication will be drastically reduced. A simple limitation during prep can save you hours, if not days, of headaches later.
Working with talk show guests can be intimidating, but effective communication and a well-designed Talk Show Appearance Agreement make the process far more manageable.
If you haven’t already, don’t forget to download our free Talk Show Appearance Agreement template.
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At Wrapbook, we pride ourselves on providing outstanding free resources to producers and their crews, but this post is for informational purposes only as of the date above. The content on our website is not intended to provide and should not be relied on for legal, accounting, or tax advice. You should consult with your own legal, accounting, or tax advisors to determine how this general information may apply to your specific circumstances.
Loring is a Los Angeles-based writer, director, and creative producer. His work has been commissioned by a diverse range of clients- from Havas Worldwide to Wisecrack, inc.- and has been screened around the world. Through a background that blends project development with physical production across multiple formats, Loring has developed a uniquely eclectic skillset as a visual storyteller.
