Will Patrick Kielty find his rhythm with the Late Late country music special?
Patrick Kielty's first Late Late Country Music Special airs tonight. Picture: RTÉ
Tonight, Patrick Kielty will don his best stetson and some leather chaps as he takes the reins of the Late Late Show Country Music Special.
As has been the case with the show since Kielty took over as host, the line-up for tonight's show will not be announced ahead of time.
Speaking ahead of the show, Kielty said that country music was the soundtrack to his childhood as his late father promoted many country acts at the time.
"If we weren't listening to country at home, we were backstage at dancehalls with my dad," he said.
"I’ve so many fond memories from then and I’m really looking forward to bringing it all back home with my first Late Late Show Country Special tonight."
The popular special episode is a product of Ryan Tubridy's tenure. Some were unsure whether it would be scrapped as Kielty seeks to put his own stamp on the chat show.
Quite the opposite has happened as the episode is airing much earlier in the season than usual.
In fact, Tubridy hosted his final country special just seven months ago.
The decision to air it so early in the season may be an attempt to boost viewership figures which have been declining since Kielty's debut last month.
The stand-up comedian pulled in an average audience of 830,000 during his first night of hosting. At its peak, there were 934,000 watching live while a further 158,000 people streamed it on the RTÉ Player.
As expected, after the first show many tuned out once more having satiated their curiosity about how the Co Down man would handle taking over as host.
It remains to be seen whether moving the country music special will help or hinder the show as it tries to find its rhythm.
Kielty is still trying to settle into the new job and we are still seeing kinks being worked out and tweaks made to sets.
Alongside the Toy Show and the Valentines' special, the country episode is one of the big hitters for the Late Late which only adds to the pressure.
With Kielty still trying to get comfortable in the saddle, throwing him in the deep end, chaps and all, might backfire.
Fans are already criticising the episode as it will not be airing live as it usually would. Instead, it was pre-recorded during the week.
One of the enjoyable parts of these big episodes is the chaotic nature of them as the audience gets a little rowdy and you never know what will happen next.
Viewers feel that a pre-recorded version will rob it of this element.
Others have said that Kielty is not as 'up for the craic' as Tubridy was after the Ballywalter actor allegedly took issue with last week's episode where he dressed as a jockey and rode a mechanical horse.
The behind-the-scenes tension became public when the Irish Examiner reported that the show's executive producer had left the show just one month into the season.
With a new host and following the RTÉ pay scandal, this season of the Late Late is under a great deal of scrutiny and has been met with mixed reviews.
The guests who have appeared so far this season have been underwhelming for many viewers and is another point of concern ahead of tonight's country music special.
Over the years, the episode has come under fire for inviting the same well-known Irish country music stars and not taking the opportunity to highlight up-and-coming talent.
With each episode having a shorter running time this season, country music fans believe it is even less likely that lesser-known musicians will be given a chance.
The country music show had taken a hiatus from 2019 until March of this year just before Tubridy rode off into the sunset where, unbeknownst to him, the RTÉ pay scandal was waiting for him.
Recalling how the idea for the show came about, Tubridy said: "It all started out really when I was not long on the job as the presenter of The Late Late Show, and when driving around the country, I kept seeing posters of gigs of different country stars and it was a world I wasn't familiar with.
"I quickly learned that it was a world that brought people together and while I will miss seeing everybody on an annual basis, I have made a lot of friends in the country music world, and that has been my privilege."
