Bianca de la Garza Goes ‘Unanchored’ in Local Late-Night TV Show
For more than five years, WCVB fans spent their mornings with Bianca de la Garza at the “EyeOpener’’ desk, but last year the veteran broadcaster announced she’d be leaving to pursue a new TV goal launching this week.
On Saturday, de la Garza’s half-hour weekly solo project, “Bianca Unanchored,’’ will premiere on Channel 5, featuring guests from across the pop culture spectrum, as lifestyle and entertainment programming rather than a talk show.
Viewers can expect to see guests of “Bianca Unanchored’’ who have New England connections, like this week’s Andy Cohen who earned a broadcast journalism degree at Boston University before becoming the face of Bravo TV.
This week’s lineup also includes legendary former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash and Barry’s Bootcamp master trainer Noah Neiman.
De la Garza is tight-lipped about visitors of future shows, but she says viewers can expect “some surprises.’’
“I can’t give you everything, but this is top-level entertainment,’’ de la Garza said.
Now 39, de la Garza had spent nearly half of her life on-air when she decided it was time to change things up last February.
“After 17 years of reporting headlines and news, I really wanted to branch out personally so I guess the timing was just right, between the marketplace and my sort of next chapter in my career and my life to do this,’’ de la Garza said during a phone interview this week.
De la Garza hopes that “Bianca Unanchored,’’ which she calls symbolic because of her departure from the news desk, will make an impact on both residents of New England and non-residents alike.
“I think people who have grown up in New England and moved on, whether it be down to Florida or the West Coast or even abroad, you always take a little bit of New England with you,’’ de la Garza said.
“Bianca Unanchored’’ episode will be available in their entirety on de la Garza’s website, giving people access to episodes if they don’t live in the immediate area or if they are otherwise engaged on Saturday nights.
“I don’t see it as a show that’s really particularly tied into a time slot, it’s more or less when you want it, you can have it,’’ de la Garza said. “Just like everything else in media, the landscape is changing and I do want to be a part of that new media — you know, Netflix, Amazon.
“When you do want to watch something or have the time to watch it, it’s there for you.’’
Despite having left the Boston area for jobs in Albany and San Diego, New England always drew de la Garza home and she’s banking on that to help make her show a success.
“New England is a place where we are here because we love being here and we deserve a program that is reflecting what is happening here in our region,’’ de la Garza said.
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