In TV, the metric that matters most is the ratings, and for the most part, Jesse Watters of Fox News delivers. The “O’Reilly chair” — which temporarily became the “Tucker chair” — is now his. Watters is the new king of the 8 p.m. hour, and he’s poised to enjoy a very long reign.
But in terms of content, he’s a bit of an acquired taste.
Bill O’Reilly was the standard-bearer for so long, even seven years after his final show (April 21, 2017), that his zeitgeist still lingers. O’Reilly liked to think of himself as a hardnosed journalist and adopted an us-versus-them mentality (“I’m lookin’ out for the folks!”), but towards the end, he ventured into self-parody. Still, he possessed a grizzled, “old school” gravitas that Tucker Carlson and Watters both lack.
Watters learned his craft at the altar of Bill O’Reilly. Originally from Philadelphia, Watters graduated from college in 2001, got a job on “The O’Reilly Factor” in 2003, and by 2004 was appearing in a few on-air segments. Although Watters’ style and delivery are less polished than O’Reilly’s, their opening monologues — what O’Reilly called his “talking points memo” (and would bizarrely pretend it was a separate, autonomous personality) — could easily come from either man’s mouth. The sentiments, story selections, and structure are strikingly similar.
When Carlson took the helm of the Fox News 8 p.m. hour, his show shifted from the O’Reilly perspective, moving from a right-of-center brand of confrontational traditionalism (with a splash of class grievances) into a more MAGA-centric, America-first kind of show. Carlson also upgraded the opening monologue, preferring a smarter, better-researched, and intellectually tighter dialogue, going heavy on unanswered questions while taking the audience by the hand and leading them to the intended finish line. And it worked: Carlson was enormously successful.
Watters is less witty and insightful but more snarky and sarcastic. He can be just as devastating when he dismantles his opponents, but his style, I suspect, leaves a generational divide: He’s probably a better, more natural fit for the Millennials and Zoomers than the Baby Boomers and Gen Xers, who might find his smarminess off-putting. (It might also dismay FOX News executives because Watters’s style and snarkiness would smoothly transition into a podcast formal, à la Megyn Kelly. Something to keep in mind when it’s time for contract renewals.)
Personal preferences aside, Watters exudes a boyish playfulness that belies his age (46), and whereas O’Reilly led with swagger (and Carlson with boldness), Watters relies on a lighthearted impishness: He’s just having fun, folks! (And so should you.)
His show pulls in excellent ratings. He grabbed the baton, and to his credit, he never once fumbled it. He’s the host of the #1 ranked show in all of cable news! That’s not an easy feat, but Watters made it look turnkey and simple. There probably aren’t many hosts who could’ve pulled that off.
Watters might already be in his mid-40s, but in cable news parlance, he’s a young buck with a bright future. Barring any unpleasant revelations, Watters will likely be a TV fixture for the next 25 years. Better get used to him because he’s not going away.
In fact, he’s just getting started.
GRADE: B-
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