Steve Harvey is having a moment — or two or three.
The spectacular overnight success of NBC’s “Little Big Shots” — featuring Harvey interacting with exceptionally talented youngsters — joins “Family Feud” and “Steve Harvey” in the funnyman’s top-rated TV trifecta.
Harvey, 59 — a father of seven and a grandfather of three — took some time out of his frenetic schedule to discuss “Little Big Shots,” already renewed for a second season, and how his faith was tested after his infamous Miss Universe kerfuffle (he announced the wrong winner live on the air).
What’s made “Little Big Shots” strike such a chord?
I knew from the beginning that every decent person I know loves kids. So when you have a show that features kids who have exceptional talent and that can do things the average adult can’t do — and I talk to them in an adult situation — that’s a hit. Kids love watching other kids, parents love watching kids and grandparents love watching kids.
The thing that makes the kids great for me is that they have a limited vocabulary, so I like the fact that they’re gonna say something pretty point-blank. They don’t have terms like “obesity” — they just go straight to “fat.” I like to talk to kids not in the way the [show’s] producers want me to, but I get them comfortable, asking about their outfit, how much their shoes cost, girls … I ask ’em some real adult questions in a simplified kid way.
Is it easier interviewing kids than adults?
Yeah, much easier. Kids don’t have publicists, they don’t have a brand, they ain’t got a management team and a damn lawyer. They’re just kids. They don’t know this is the greatest moment of their life; it’s just a day in their life and they’re on TV. That makes it pretty special. I thought we had a winning formula but I had no idea, not a clue that it would catch on this big and this fast. I need 15 more million people to watch so we can reach 30 million a week and then I’ll be making George Jefferson money.
Is the show improvised?
To be honest, it’s probably 95 percent improvised. I haven’t told that to anybody else. I keep trying to tell people that you can’t [direct] a 7-year-old; it’s not important to kids, they don’t care and they’re not gonna think in order. They’re gonna have random thoughts. So let me focus on those random thoughts. I absolutely drive the cue-card guy crazy. I won’t follow the cue cards. I hardly read any of them.
Dare I say that the success of “Little Big Shots” has turned the focus away from the Miss Universe incident?
[Laughs]. They’re still talking about it. It was so crazy because it was such a horrible moment, but what happened was that I’m such a faith-driven person, and behind every adversity in my life are two things: a lesson and a blessing. I just had to wait. It took a little longer for this blessing to happen. I was getting death threats from people in Colombia and people were parked in front of my house. I’m way past it myself. I’m laughing at it now. At the end of the day it happened and I felt bad for Miss Colombia, but things worked out for her pretty good. She’s probably the most famous runner-up of all time.
“Little Big Shots” airs at 8 p.m. Sunday on NBC