With 2022 nearing its end, the New Year’s Eve celebrations are right around the corner. As reported by Entertainment Weekly, media personality and producer Ryan Seacrest will once again be hosting Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest. While chatting with EW about the upcoming festivities, the executive producer (who has been hosting Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve since 2006) revealed his thoughts on celebrating the evening with some on-air drinking.
Initially, Seacrest reflected on the upcoming broadcast. He said, “Every year, the show gets broader and bigger. For example, we have three ball drops where we only had one for a long time. We’re in different places this year. It’s very exciting. Ciara will host in Disneyland with some of the biggest artists of the year. I will have Duran Duran in Times Square, which I’m very excited about because that’s what I grew up with. Billy Porter’s back, Liza Koshy’s back, the show has really grown into a multifaceted live broadcast. And it’s the longest show that I’ve hosted, it’s five hours plus, live. But that makes it exciting.”
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
The host then disclosed how he preps for the big night, stating that he arrives in “New York on the 27th and we start going through the show, the rundown, the artists, and the weather.” Seacrest stated that sometimes the plans needed to be adjusted “if it’s gonna rain, if it’s gonna snow, if it’s gonna be windy” but added, “for me, that’s fun.” Still, the real stress for him is making sure that the artists show up on time. He said, “There’ve been a few artists that almost didn’t make it, very close to midnight, which was a very stressful moment for me on the air. But it normally comes together and even the moments that aren’t perfect become the moments that people talk about.”
RELATED: Best New Year’s Eve Scenes, Ranked
Ryan Seacrest Doesn’t “Advocate” for Drinking During On-Air Hosting Duties
EW noted that this year, CNN wants its on-air anchors to cut back on drinking during the New Year’s Eve broadcast. When asked what he thought of the decision, Seacrest stated, “I don’t advocate drinking when one is on the air. I don’t know how that started as a tradition, but it’s probably a good idea [to scale back], CNN. There’s some pretty respectable people or at least one, right? I think there’s a serious journalist and then a friend of mine who has a lot of fun, but it’s probably a good idea.”
Seacrest continued, “Although the viewers probably wish they would drink more. But I think they had something to say about my show at one point, which was I’m sure from the alcohol because, I don’t think they would say what they said about our performers if they weren’t drinking. But, you know, I think our show’s a bigger, broader show and we will not drink until 1:05 in the morning. Although, I might send them some Casa Dragones Tequila just to tempt them while they’re on the air.”
Seacrest also revealed some of the co-hosts and artists that have been tipsy while on-air. He stated, “I think Post Malone was definitely enjoying himself before he went out. But it’s amazing, artists can still hit their marks, they can do their songs while drinking. Luke Bryan, who I worked with on American Idol, he can have a couple of drinks and still nail it. For me, it’s a little more intense. I prefer not to do that on a live broadcast so I get the countdown right, I don’t want to screw it up.”
