Eight months or so after its last episodes aired, The Big Interview with Dan Rather will return with four new conversations this January. The legendary newsman will continue crossing big names in the music industry off his bucket list with chats featuring Lollapalooza founder Perry Farrell, breakout country music star Luke Combs and the always popular Randy and Mary Travis. In addition, he’ll also mix in Oscar winner and Watchmen star Regina King.
The first of the chats featuring Jane’s Addiction frontman Perry Farrell will drop on January 6th at 8 PM ET/ 5 PM PT on AXS TV. The following week will be Luke Combs, then Regina King and finally Randy and Mary Travis will wrap up the new block of episodes on January 27th. Same Bat Time. Same Bat Channel. In addition to these four, the network will also drop additional new episodes in early Spring, though the specific talent involved hasn’t been named yet. Feel free to fill in the blanks with your dream guests and cross your fingers.
Following his departure from the anchor chair of CBS Evening News back in 2005, Dan Rather has found plenty of ways to stay in the public eye. He’s written books. He’s amassed a Twitter following of 1.7 million, and he’s built a really steady partnership with AXS TV. Initially, he contributed to the network with Dan Rather Reports, which launched in 2006, but since 2013, he’s focused most of his efforts on The Big Interview, landing some huge names during that time.
There’s not nearly enough time in this story to outline all of the big names Rather has sat down with as part of the program, but I’ll drop a quick highlight list of guests: Dolly Parton, Lindsey Buckingham, Weird Al, Quentin Tarantino, Carol Burnett, Edward Norton, Gene Simmons, Kenny Rogers, Ice Cube, Kid Rock and Kiefer Sutherland. Any journalist would be proud of that squad, but the interviews are all the more impressive given their length. Rather’s show allows him the opportunity to really dig in and talk to the guests about a variety of topics that most quick hit interviews can’t possibly cover. He doesn’t shy away from real issues either.
For example, in the upcoming Luke Combs episode, Rather asks the singer about the perception that country music isn’t particularly diverse or welcoming to outsiders. You can check out Combs’ answer to that question in the clip the show provided to us below…
At 89 years old, Dan Rather has found a way to stay relevant, stay working and continue contributing thoughtful content to his fans. It’s wonderful that he’s found the right platform on AXS TV. If this is the sort of thing you enjoy, you should consider checking it out when the show officially returns on January 6th.
