Harith Iskander to host first late night talk show on Astro AWANI

According to Harith, the launch of this program is timely as it will prove the ability of local production which is at par with the international standard.

He said, since this is the first late night show in Malaysia to be done in English, he expressed hope that this will be a good opportunity to not only attract viewers around the world, but also to get world-famous guests to be on the show as well.

"The impact I want, together with Astro AWANI is to create a show that is at par with other news agencies across the world like CNBC, Al-Jazeera, CNN and BBC.

"When other people look at the high quality production of our show -- the music, and our guests -- this show can be played wherever," said Harith after the launch of the program in Bangsar, Thursday.

Meanwhile, Astro AWANI's chief executive officer Faizal Mansor said the launch of the late night show was inspired by the international talk show hosted by popular comedians Jimmy Fallon, James Corden and Jimmy Kimmel.

Faizal also said based on a finding on the preferences of Malaysian audience showing a trend that many are interested in program-based comedy.

Commenting on Harith Iskander as the host of the show, Faizal said Harith is the perfect candidate, an icon who have been entertaining Malaysians since more than two decades ago.

The talk show by Astro AWANI and Harith Iskander is currently sponsored by Air Asia Berhad and INTI International Colleges and Universities.

It will run for 13 episodes on channel 501 Astro AWANI, every Saturday, at 9:30 pm starting May 28.