Last night on TV, Alessandro Cattelan, the eternal young promise (not kept), and Pino Insegno, the (un)safe second-hand of the Rossi-Sergio Rai management clashed, but only ideally. Cattelan closed, with the third episode, his “Up close, no one is normal”, halfway between a late show and a variety show for millennials, all focused on the public’s foibles and obsessions.
After a less than brilliant, but not terrible debut for Rai2’s prime time (5.5% share, 912 thousand viewers), the following two episodes went downhill, only to close yesterday with a disappointing 4.4% and 734 thousand viewers. A result that adds to those already obtained by Cattelan on generalist TV, always below expectations. On the other hand, apart from the interaction with the public, last night the guests were Paola and Chiara, Arisa and Diletta Leotta, rather inflated names. Having grown up among MTV veejays in the early 2000s, Cattelan then achieved good success by hosting the Italian edition of X Factor on Sky for ten years. But consensus in a particular demographic range (30-40 year olds) has never spread to the general public of Rai1 and Rai2, despite various attempts. Apparently, however, as there is no great competition among the new generation presenters (indeed, it is not even clear if they exist), Rai will continue to focus on the friendly showman from Tortona.
On the other hand, Insegno was expected to test “Reazione a Catena”, a program which he last hosted 11 years ago and which in recent years has been led with excellent ratings by Marco Liorni. The comedian and voice actor, after having participated in Fratelli d’Italia events and having been spotted several times at Palazzo Chigi, became an easy target for the opposition, as a “Melonian” character. He didn’t help his attempt to resurrect “The Merchant at the Fair” in Rai2’s prime time access, which ended prematurely due to truly depressing ratings, an experiment that prevented him from landing on “L’Eredità”.
Now was the time to prove that he is still a successful presenter, and yesterday’s debut proved him right: The first part obtained a 23.9% share with 2.7 million viewers, while the second, the close to the Tg, 24% (3.4 million), clearly ahead of its rival Canale 5 (Caduta Libera, which however was in rerun). Compared to Liorni’s debut last year (23-25.2% share, but with fewer spectators), a substantial draw. In the offices on Viale Mazzini they breathed a sigh of relief.
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