Live-show veterans Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss emerged strongly from the recent Democratic National Convention — more than 26 million people tuned in to watch Vice President Kamala Harris accept the presidential nomination on Thursday night.
The Emmy-winning duo (Kirshner executive produced; Weiss directed) curated a four-day event that oozed both polish and substance. Though DNC heavyweights don't typically select issue-oriented speakers — this year it was primarily down to political consultant Stephanie Cutter and her team — Kirshner and Weiss played a huge hand in crafting the show's atmosphere and influencing the messages that came through to us. They even crafted that viral Lil Jon roll-call moment.
As the conference ends, The Hollywood Reporter spoke to the pair about what they're proud of, what they'd do differently, and that Beyoncé rumor that won't die down. Their conversation has been edited for brevity and clarity.
This year's DNC felt a little different – the energy, the vibrancy. How much of that was by design?
Ricky Kirshner The excitement of being together again after not being together for four years [during Covid] I think that played a huge role in it. It's actually been eight years since we've been able to go through something like this.
Glenn Weiss And there was also a shift in focus – we took a conference we had held four weeks earlier and held it with a new candidate, so we could create fresh interest and memories.
How would these broadcasts look different following Biden’s nomination?
Weiss Of course, we would have experienced a great energy as well. But the slogans people were chanting were different; the signs were different. And the content was different. I think everything changed a little bit when we went in this different direction with a new unified party.
Did you make any changes during the week as well?
Weiss Well, one thing we did was we increased the use of the DJ the night before the last one because of the changes in the room.
Was this not planned?
Kirschner After midnight on Wednesday we said, “You know, this place would rock if we had a DJ tomorrow night.” So we called up the Chicago Bulls and asked, “Do you have a DJ?”
How much are you calibrating everything for social media now? It seems like it's quite difficult to create a conference that plays both in the room and at home, let alone as a set of YouTube clips the next day.
Weiss That's been a change over the last couple of years. With every artist I think, “How can these be clips?” Now I don't think, “Okay, we have a wide shot at the top of the last hour; I don't need that again.” Everything is a standalone.
However, it is still important to make sure it flows as one piece.
Kirschner I think we were able to do that with most of the speeches. We had some trouble the first night [when the proceedings went long and some key stuff was skipped]But we asked Stephanie and the writers to reduce the speeches, and we were able to get it together. Previously we would start at 4 p.m., have a parade of speakers and it would be endless. We have to think differently now.
How much do you have to change the room as well? It seems like everything about a conference is written in advance, but the best moments are completely unplanned.
Weiss Ricky and I have spent our careers in live television and we take pride in being able to adapt to the changing landscape – it’s the old reform philosophy of “yes, and.”
Like the moment with Gus Walz – how planned was that?
Weiss There wasn't any planning at all. I just saw what was happening and said, “Let's get this going.”
Many people found it very touching that he was crying and saying “This is my father.” But then some right-wing people reacted harshly to this…
Weiss I think it defines the two sides of the race. It says more about them than that.
What other moments surprised you with their virality?
Kirschner For me it was that [Georgia] Roll Call with Lil Jon. It took on a life of its own. We were just trying to get the energy in the room and when we woke up the next morning it was like, “Holy shit.” We actually asked some people from other states if they wanted to do something and they didn’t get involved. But Lil Jon really put his hand into it.
Weiss I knew Lil Jon would work when Sean Astin got up [for Indiana] And people started chanting 'Rudy, Rudy'. But it's important to remember that we don't want every moment to be a DJ moment in front of you – we also want something that touches the heart. What you want is to create a show where hands are clapping but tears are also flowing. That's our biggest strength – glitz and glamour is great but if we can win your hearts and emotions, that's what we want.
A speech by the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a young man held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, seemed to fit this bill. This speech resonated in a way different from many other previous conferences.
Weiss I've taken over a lot of the segments. When I tried to call camera shots and cutaways, I got choked up and couldn't even call the camera. That was so profound to me. Our mission is to make people at home feel that suffocating atmosphere, and I think we did that there.
Kirschner He's, “Oh man, I can't breathe here.” You know, when we do shows like the Tonys we rehearse everything and we know all these people. But here there are so many people we don't know and speeches we don't know. It's surprising even to us.
Speaking of surprising…
Kirschner (laughing) : Oh no.
I mean, I have to do this. Beyoncé. Was this ever going to happen Thursday night? What really happened here?
Kirschner We never said anything about Beyoncé. Every time the media asked us, we denied it every time – although, by the way, people don't say anything about Beyoncé. My employees I couldn't believe it. I was getting messages from news organizations constantly asking, “When is Beyoncé coming out?” But, we have the biggest star, the Democratic candidate for president. Why would we pass her up?
Weiss The internet has a life of its own and people take anything for granted – literally to the point where people at my booth would say, “Is she coming? You can tell me.” And I would say “I don't know if she's coming.” And they would say “Don't know? So there's something to know!” It was very strange. But she wasn't coming. Even at the end. TMZ [which first reported it] had to apologise.
Of course, you had a lot of other celebrities as well. But it seemed like there was a constant tug-of-war over how much to show them.
RK: We're smart enough to know that we're there to spread the message about the Democratic side. Celebrities definitely help us do that, but we have to keep the end goal in mind. We had Pink [on Thursday]. She was amazing. But it was a beautiful song by Pink, Pink didn't come flying off the roof. She was singing the right song at the right time and it was perfect for that moment.
What was the best political moment from where you guys were sitting?
Kirschner Michelle did a great job, obviously. And so did Doug's speech. It was very warm and human.
Do you think a convention moment could change anything in terms of voting? trying to do that?
Kirschner If TikTok is blowing up with Roll Call and 100 people or even one person in Georgia decides to vote because of it, then I think we've made a difference. With the Tonys we want you to go see a Broadway show. The goal here is to inspire you to vote for the right person.
Weiss For me it's not just a job. It's a purpose. I'm just trying to use my skills to contribute to it.
If you were to do it again in 2028, how many times would you repeat what you did?
VetsIf we do this again in 2028, the biggest change will be, “What is the right way to reconsider President Harris' last four years?”
So on message!
Weiss (laughing) : Absolutely.
Kirschner The biggest change I expect is the addition of a new TV Academy member. [Emmy] Included in the category of Best Political Live-Event.
could be possible.
Kirschner (laughs) You never know.