Entertainment Tonight, seen in South Africa on Fridays on SABC3, has just celebrated the milestone of 8 000 episodes, a milestone for the longest-running and most-watched entertainment news magazine show in the world which started on 14 September 1981 and created a genre.
"I'm so proud of this unprecedented accomplishment by an entertainment news magazine," said Linda Bell Blue, the executive producer of Entertainment Tonight in a press statement issued by CBS Television Distribution.
"Entertainment Tonight continues to be the gold standard. It's been my honour to produce Entertainment Tonight for nearly two decades but we wouldn't get to 8 000 shows without the tireless efforts of the best team in television. I tip my hat to everyone involved in bringing our loyal viewers the most credible, timely, fascinating stories of the day," she said.
Entertainment Tonight is currently in its 31st season in America and is recorded at Studio City in California. Canada has its own version of the show.
"As one of our crown jewels, we couldn't be more thrilled to calla ttention to this milestone for Entertainment Tonight," said John Nogawski, the president of CBS Television Distribution.
"It is remarkable that after 8 000 episodes, Entertainment Tonight is number one in its genre and is recognised in Hollywood and the broadcasting industry as the absolute authority on entertainment news - that's due to the dedication and hard work of everyone at Entertainment Tonight."
