Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Influenced’ On Prime Video, A Talk Show For The TikTok Generation

Influenced is a talk show, hosted by Achieng Agutu, Cyrus Veyssi, Eyal Booker, Taryn Delanie Smith and Tefi Pessoa, all of whom have big social media followings. The show is sort of structured like a daytime talk show, with segments where the hosts go through group discussion segments about particular topics, then they interview guests, and also demonstrate products or things that will help people (let’s face it, mostly Gen Zers) in their online adventures.

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Opening Shot: “Hey, are you scrolling, looking for something to watch? I’ve got an idea… Why don’t you watch this show?” says Influcenced co-host Teffi Pessoa.

The Gist: Each episode of Influenced is loosely based around a theme, and in the first episode, the hosts talk about work, namely the gig economy that is pretty much the norm for zoomers. The hosts talk about tough work situations they’ve been in; Cyrus hated when he was an assistant and he had accept being told he was wrong when he knew he was right. “That’s tough for me,” he says.

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The hosts interview Allegra Edwards of Upload , who talks about some of the gigs she had when she was a struggling actress. Later, Christina Milian is also interviewed, and she talks about parenthood, her acting and singing career, and the beignet business she started with a partner.

In other segments, the producers show the hosts what an AI-generated LinkedIn profile picture of each of them would look like, and Cyrus gives tips on the best ways to list items in your closet that you might want to sell for quick cash.

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What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Take The View and de-age the hosts, and you’ve got Influenced .

Our Take: There’s a temptation to say that Influenced , produced by Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine , is a half-hour TikTok meme, but when you get down to brass tacks, it’s like we described it above: A daytime talk show format zhuzzhed up for people used to getting their information on social media. There’s an irony here; the idea behind the show is that it’s fast-moving enough to attract scrollers, but we wouldn’t be surprised if Amazon pieces out bits of these episodes onto TikTok, YouTube and Instagram in order to market the show.

The hosts are enthusiastic, to say the least, but they only spew catchphrases and slang some of the time; there are times, especially during the interviews, where they actually act like the real people they are and ask pertinent questions. Yes, there’s a lot of fangirling and fanboying when the interviewees walk on set, but that’s not really a whole lot different than what, say, Hoda and Jenna do, right?

We’re not really sure if Influenced is going to find an audience, given the fact that even its zippy 30-minute episodes might be a bit too much for social-media-addled attention spans. The slang-slinging can get irritating at times. But it’s an interesting attempt at bringing a tried-and-true television format into the 2020s, and trying to make it appeal to younger audiences.

Sex and Skin: There’s some sexy talk here and there, but most of what’s on the show is pretty PG-rated.

Parting Shot: The show ends with the interview with Millan, including the hosts eagerly eating the beignets from her business.

Sleeper Star: Cyrus Veyssi is certainly positioning themselves to be the show’s breakout star, being the most outgoing of the show’s five outgoing hosts.

Most Pilot-y Line: In the segment on selling your stuff online, Cyrus suggests using a model, and brings out both Eyal and Taryn to as examples. We’ve never, ever seen Poshmark, Mercari, eBay, etc. items modeled on people, for one, and most of us don’t have friends nearly as attractive as Eyal and Taryn.

Our Call: STREAM IT, but only because Influenced is a bit of a hybrid between an old-school daytime talk show and a social-media driven show like After Midnight . It’s irritating at times, and we’re not really sure if the show will land with its intended Gen Z audience, but we appreciate the attempt.

Joel Keller ( @joelkeller ) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com , VanityFair.com , Fast Company and elsewhere.

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