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| Photo: ABC |
“Americ’s Funniest Home Videos” returns for an all-new season beginning Sunday, October 8 on ABC.
TVMusic Network caught up with the show’s host Alfonso Ribeiro to get his thoughts on hosting the show, what Must See TV shows he’s watching and if he thinks there could be a reboot of his superstar hit show “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.”
Check out the interview below:
TVMusic Network: Congratulations on America’s Funniest Home Videos’s (AFV) longevity…28 years is a huge milestone.
Alfonso Ribeiro: Thank You. It’s in its 28th season so it’s pretty cool just to be involved with the show. It certainly has earned the respect the love and support from its fans to be around this many years.
TVMusic Network: People still watch it regularly and just love it.
Alfonso Ribeiro: That’s true. Some of our reruns rated higher than some other networks first runs. We’re not pissed at that.
TVMusic Network: What do you think attributes to that? Why do people keep watching?
Alfonso Ribeiro: I think because especially now when there is so much emphasis on politics that is so negative that a little bit of time to just sit down and just laugh is wonderful. That’s what everybody wants.
TVMusic Network: Do you feel like the show is yours now as host? That you’ve made it your own?
Alfonso Ribeiro: Yeah. I feel like I pretty much know what my job is. I know how I impact the job. I know how each week, I know what I’m going to do. I know what the energy needs to be so I feel like I’ve gotten to a really nice place with it. So, I don’t feel like I’m pushing anymore
TVMusic Network: Was there a turning point that got you there?
Alfonso Ribeiro: About maybe two or three episodes into my second season was when I had seen an episode or two and I went…’Aah. That’s it’ It was like ‘I did it.’It was just right. It felt good and I didn’t need to push it.
TVMusic Network: If you and your family were the subjects of an AFV video, what do you think the nature of that video would be?
Alfonso Ribeiro: It would absolutely be my kids. My kids do some really, really stupid stuff. I’ve got two boys. Right now I’m just trying to make it so they don’t kill each other. If we put a video camera in the house, we’re going to something.
TVMusic Network: Can you see yourself being with the show as long as Tom Bergeron was?
Alfonso Ribeiro: I’ve said from the beginning, I want to do one season longer than Tom. He did 15, I want to do 16. So they’re in trouble if we got to my 16th season.
TVMusic Network: Will we see you again on “Dancing With The Stars.”
Alfonso Ribeiro: Who knows, I love that show. The other family is right over there. That’s my “Dancing” family. I love going, I love hanging out…. It’s a great group of dancers, the crew and Tom and Erin. They’re all like family and so I going and watching the show. I went on the show as a fan and loved it so much. I go back as often as possible because I am simply a fan.
TVMusic Network: ABC is part of the Disney family as is Disneyland? Are you a fan?
Alfonso Ribeiro: Oh yes. We go all the time. It’s a part of [my children’s] lives now. We did the season finale of my first season at Disneyland and it was very cool because my son AJ thought of me as the greatest person on the planet. He was like “You know Lighting McQueen…”
TVMusic Network: The new fall season is about to start. What shows are Must See TV for you?
Alfonso Ribeiro: Must See TV for me would be, “AFV,” “Dancing With The Stars,” “Scandal,” “Homeland”…My wife forces me to watch “Madame Secretary.” It’s a good show though. I’m not going to lie. I’m kind of watching it now and I’m a Marvel guy so I like watching all the Marvel shows.
TVMusic Network: Revivals and reboots are resurging and seem to be all the thing right now. If there was a reboot of a previous show you were on, would you consider it?
Alfonso Ribeiro: I guess it would have to be “Silver Spoons” because it won’t be “The Fresh Prince.” I just feel like…the reason we stopped shooting “Fresh Prince” was because it felt like we could no longer live up to the quality of the episodes. I feel like most of these reboots certainly don’t live up to the quality of the original and once James Avery passed there was just no reason to ever do it. I really believe that it is so important in life to look forward and to stop looking behind you. We spend so much time ‘remembering when’ rather than being. Be in the moment, be in your life, be present in your space and continue to move forward. Yesterday is gone, you can’t change it. So why try to mess up something that we did right.
Catch Alfonso when “America’s Funny Home Videos” returns for an all-new season on Sunday, October 8 on ABC.
