NASHVILLE, Tennessee- “Talking In Circles With Clint Black” marked a milestone this week by celebrating the taping of their 50th show. “Talking In Circles” airs every Saturday night at 10 p.m. (EST), 9 p.m. (CST) on Circle Network immediately following the Grand Ole Opry. Now in its fourth season, the concept of “Talking In Circles” is similar to “Inside The Actors Studio” expanded to include musicians and comedians.
I first became aware of Black’s show when I watched The Opry on TV during the pandemic. His show came on right after the Opry. And while there have been interview shows around for decades, Black’s way of doing it was different. In my opinion, it was better as he was well-researched with his questions, but then let the guest have free reign without much interruption.
Everyone is aware of Black’s talent as a singer and a songwriter. His songs were chart toppers before streaming was a thing. Still, he has more than a billion streams with fan-favorite songs like “Killlin’ Time” and “When I Said I Do” to name a few.
The Houston native has stars on both Hollywood’s and Nashville’s Walk of Fame. But unless you watch his show, you may be unaware of the musician’s skill at making his guests feel at ease.
The television show host said, “I prepare before I come in. But then sometimes I’ll trigger something from them or maybe I got something wrong and then I’ll hear the real story. It’s a lot of fun, but the great by-product is the friendships I’ve made.”
Naturally, he has had a lot of interviews with country music stars, but he has also reached out to cover comedians and entertainers from all walks of life. Previous guests have included: Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, Terry Bradshaw, Sammy Hagar, Dennis Quaid, Patricia Heaton, Kevin Nealon, Joe Bonamassa, Bobby Bones, and many others.
Black said, “I love people. I love hearing about how other people have done it. Sometimes their story is similar to mine and sometimes it’s different. I’ve done so many interviews since I broke out in 1989. And I am such a fan of talk shows. The great thing that makes it easy for me is I don’t put pressure on myself to be perfect. When I’m mostly imperfect as I am, every now and then I get lucky and have a perfect moment. All the rest of the time I don’t sweat it and I’m able to relax. It is intended to be like you’re a fly on the wall and you’re overhearing what we would talk about backstage. The network’s done a great job of making me feel empowered to go where it goes and that makes it a lot easier.”
While season 4 of “Talking In Circles With Clint Black” is airing now, they are in the process of filming season 5. They recently celebrated his 50th episode with the crew in Nashville.
I call Black’s show a diamond in the rough. You may have to search to find it once you do, you’ll be glad you did. Watch “Talking in Circles With Clint Black” Saturday night at 10 p.m. (EST), 9 p.m. (CST) on the Circle Network Network.
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Bethany Bowman is a freelance entertainment writer. You can follow her blog, Instagram, and Twitter.
