A year after Myrta Merlino’s debut as the host of Pomeriggio Cinque, the show still appears to lack identity
September 2, 2024 19:14
The Pomeriggio Cinque of Myrta Merlino, a year after its start, still has not found its own mark. By the end of the first episode of the new season, one cannot help but notice the struggle that the program has to assume a distinctive denotation within the television landscape.
It is not enough, as was thought a year ago, to entrust the hosting to an experienced and seasoned journalist like Merlino. The host, despite her unmistakable style (which has made her the subject of a very amusing imitation by Barbara Foria), fails to leave her own trademark on the show, which, as conceived, remains very far from Merlino’s professional background.
Crime news dominates the show. However, the presence of reporters is not as impactful as it is in the rival program, La vita in diretta. The storytelling is entrusted to clinical reports, to which quick connections are integrated from the places of Videonews journalists.
However, the choice to involve, in addition to the expert Luciano Garofano, Veronica Gentili, who brings reasoned opinions and the weight of a face that has become familiar over the years for those who follow Mediaset networks, proves to be a good one. During the first episode, one cannot forgo interviewing one of the protagonists of the Pierina Paganelli case in the studio. The guest is Loris Bianchi, interviewed by Myrta Merlino without particular depth.
Then, in the second part, the focus shifts to lifestyle, discussed with guests sitting around the new table strongly desired by the host. Among the guests, the presence of Francesca Barra stands out, who seems to have been pulled away from the competitor on Rai 1, where she used to be a guest. Myrta Merlino and her interlocutors open the season by discussing the first summer post-breakup of Fedez and Chiara Ferragni, a couple that has routinely been talked about in the Pomeriggio Cinque studio over the last season.
Then, time is limited to comment – but there’s little time left – on the gaffe of Antonello Venditti during one of his concerts. The only opinion that emerges on the matter is that of the host, who intervenes in defense of the singer-songwriter, whom she claims to know. Thus concludes, after a quick mention of the new appointment of Paolo Del Debbio on Rete 4, the first seasonal episode.
Pomeriggio Cinque has restarted exactly where it left off with its viewers. The new season will not have to face the trauma of a change in hosting, absorbed over the past months. The real challenge awaiting Merlino and her authors will be to create a program with its own identity. Will it manage to achieve its own distinctive color by the end of the season?