TITLE : The Treatment
SUPPORT : KCRW
WEB : kcrw.com/etc/programs/tt
LENGTH : 28 minutes
STYLE : live interview
CONCEPT 
Elvis Mitchell interviews directors, writers, comedians and other entertainment creators in the studio at KCRW. Not the most original idea in the book, a live interview, but casting Mitchell as the show’s host was a very good concept indeed.
HOST
Mitchell really has a knack for putting his guests at ease, and I’m sure it has something to do with him being a cool, intelligent black man with sensitive eyes behind wired glasses under a mop of killer dreads. Something about his eclectic physicality must make people feel like they could tell him anything, as if he’d seen it all already and he’s just welcoming them to commiserate. He lets his guests speak at length about things they’re passionate about, and leads them effortlessly into their next thoughts. I’m a pretty big fan of his interview style. He doesn’t grill them, he doesn’t noticeably bait them, he doesn’t ask the same trite questions of every guest he meets — he just knowingly asks guests about themselves, then lets them flow.
GUESTS 
Guests of the show are famous, no doubt, but when a property is hot (i.e. J.J. Abrams after the most recent Star Trek), they’re kind of too hot for The Treatment. Michell interviews really interesting people, sure, but his show is often peppered with creators promoting properties that haven’t performed well for a national audience. Since Mitchell’s also a fim critic, I sometimes wonder how he ends up with certain guests.
For example, Brad Silberling? Really? “Land of the Lost” was not well-reviewed, not to mention that Kim Masters (host of another KCRW show The Business) has ragged on his film several times for being an example of a movie that was too expensive on top of being a real flop — a model of what isn’t working for studios today and definitely a thing of the past. So why would any self-respecting entertainment news program want to give that voice such a strong, half-hour long platform to discuss a project that’s not worth emulating? I think the clear answer to this question is “balance.”
The Treatment is one nice way of getting a fair and balanced opinion about mainstream entertainment, so it’s worth incorporating into your too-rich diet of entertainment podcasts. Mitchell makes it pretty painless to listen to the 80% of creators in the world that are basically forgettable. You don’t need to hold your nose for all the episodes, but every so often there’s a guest that, in title, just seems disappointing. If you give them a chance to speak for themselves though, they are often redeemed by the end.