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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now"Boomer TV" is coming out of retirement.
The 30-minute locally produced show aimed at Baby Boomers is scheduled for a return to television April 10 and then weekly on Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. on WFYI-TV Channel 20.
"Boomer TV" previously aired on WISH-TV Channel 8 from March 2015 to November 2017.
The show’s owner, Mary Pat McKee—who also owns Indy Boomer Magazine and a weekly "Boomer Radio" show airing on WFDM-FM 95.9—has completed production of the first comeback show and the second show is in production.
McKee enlisted a slew of local on-air personalities as reporters, including TV news veterans Paul Poteet and Julie Patterson, who has worked on local radio and served a stint as WISH-TV’s traffic reporter. Also in the lineup are WFYI-FM 90.1 anchor and reporter Jill Ditmire and radio veteran Ed Wenck, who was managing editor of Nuvo Newsweekly until 2016.
McKee has signed a deal with Westport Homes to underwrite the show, which will be shot in one of Westport’s model homes. McKee said she’s also working on deals with two other underwriters but said it’s too early to reveal them.
The first show includes features on the Indianapolis Children’s Choir and Iozzo’s Garden of Italy restaurant as well as advice on downsizing homes.
In the second episode, Boomer TV will feature an interview with Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett, who will discuss what it was like growing up as a baby boomer in Indiana, the challenges of being a mayor and his latest initiatives.
“We’re trying to keep it very upbeat,” McKee said. “It’s meant to be a laid-back show.”
McKee partnered with WISH-TV Channel 8 veteran Patty Spitler to launch Boomer TV in 2015. The show went off the air after Spitler and McKee parted ways. Spitler sought to produce a show that appealed to a wider audience and launched "Great Day TV," which airs Sunday mornings on WISH.
Spitler also produces "Pet Pals TV."
McKee said "Boomer TV" is too important to the local viewing audience—and her business—to put it out to pasture.
“We’ve heard from a number of people, and how much they missed the show,” McKee said. “I had worked for 2-1/2 years to brand the TV show with the magazine and radio show. And I wasn’t ready to let all that die.”
Indy Boomer Magazine launched in 2011 and the radio show began in 2016.
McKee aims to produce 26 "Boomer TV" episodes annually, with each episode repeating once.
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