AMC Global Media has picked up "The Graham Norton Show" for two more seasons, securing the U.K. talker's U.S. distribution through Seasons 34 (2026-2027) and 35 (2027-2028). The deal keeps Norton's red couch on BBC America — its linear stateside home for years — and on three AMC Global Media streamers: Acorn TV, AMC+ and All Reality.

The pickup follows the show's strongest U.S. performance in three years. Last season averaged 153,000 linear viewers on BBC America. Acorn TV, where most of the streaming audience watches, saw a year-over-year bump. AMC+ more than doubled its streaming audience over the previous season.

"He's a singular talent," said Courtney Thomasma, AMC Global's exec VP of linear and streaming products. "He is just everything you want in a host. He's warm and engaging and charismatic. He is an incredibly skilled interviewer, and I think he's built a format that we call the ultimate late night celebrity dinner party … We talk about how his show really sits at the perfect intersection of a sort of uniquely British sophistication and broad pop culture appeal."

Norton, who is signed with BBC One in the U.K. through at least 2029, welcomed the chance to keep growing his American audience. "We've had a loyal fan base in America for a long time," he said. "When I go to America, I don't feel like anybody knows who I am. But there are certain situations where they do … If I go to a Broadway theater, everyone, all the kids who work there, know who I am. I can't explain that, but it's very nice. I often get a free drink!"

Global attention spiked earlier this year when Norton appeared in Taylor Swift's music video for "Opalite" alongside guests from a Season 33 episode: Cillian Murphy, Domhnall Gleeson, Greta Lee, Jodie Smith and Lewis Capaldi. Swift called the show one of her favorite programs and described Norton as "the insanely charismatic and lovable host" who "invites a random group of actors, entertainers, musicians, etc. to be on his show and we all sit there and chat like it's a dinner party."

The Swift effect was real, if occasionally disorienting. "The Swifties know the show because she's been on multiple times, and wherever she appears, they will find her," Norton said. "They're not going to ignore a show that she's on, so they all knew who I was, but there must have been people who encountered that video going, 'Who are these people?' And of course, there were the conspiracy theories where they thought we had filmed the video before the show."

Norton credited the atmosphere Swift described for the show's longevity. "You can have those viral moments, and you can have those standout things and clips that get loads of attention. But if the people in the clips aren't having a good time, they're not going to come back," he said. "We need returning guests. Here in Britain, there have been talk shows in the past where they had gotcha moments or embarrassed the guests. That's not sustainable."

Season 33's guest roster proved the point: Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Matthew McConaughey, Julia Roberts, Bruce Springsteen, Kim Kardashian, Timothée Chalamet, Cynthia Erivo, Charli XCX and many more shared Norton's couch.

He distinguished the format from podcast interviews. "I can't imagine a podcast that would get the people we get all at the same time, all together on a couch," Norton said. "The other thing is that we're doing it in front of a big audience. People behave differently in front of an audience. They tell stories differently in front of an audience."

Yet Norton, who turns 65 during his current BBC deal, was frank about the format's economics. "Maybe my show isn't sustainable. Maybe this is the last throw of the dice," he said, noting that U.S. shows including "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert," "Conan" and "The Late Late Show With James Corden" have already gone away. "I imagine it is mostly financial. In some way, I think Trump is keeping [the remaining] shows alive because they can't cancel them. Otherwise, it looks like they're caving to Trump."

As a weekly program, though, Norton faces fewer demands than his four-night-a-week U.S. counterparts. "I'm in the glorious position of putting a show out once a week," he said. "Why would I quit? It's the nicest job in show business!"

AMC's data shows distinct audiences on each platform, with minimal duplication. "We found that we're now reaching a newer pop culture celebrity-driven audience that are discovering Graham for the first time," Thomasma said of All Reality, which skews younger and more female.

Season 34 premieres in the U.K. on Friday, Sept. 25, and on U.S. platforms Thursday, Oct. 1. Premiere guests include Tom Cruise (promoting "Digger"), Florence Pugh ("East of Eden"), Lolly Adefoe ("Oh, Mary!"), John Bishop and a performance by Emeli Sandé. Catherine Zeta-Jones, whose thriller series "Kill Jackie" runs on AMC+ in the U.S., appears in Week 2.

Of Cruise, Norton said: "I never get over the fact that it's Tom Cruise … He remains Tom Cruise throughout. I don't know what that's about, and there aren't many people who can do that. There is an electricity in the studio when he comes on."