Feast For The Eyes: Watch PTI’s Set Undergo A Thanksgiving-Themed Transformation
Associate director Bonnie Berko provides the scoop on the mouth-watering set design for Tuesday's "Turkeys Of The Year" show, a feat she's perfected after 16 years
Associate director Bonnie Berko has been the host and planner of Pardon the Interruption’s annual Thanksgiving special for 16 years, and she has once again prepared a feast for today’s big show (5:30 p.m., ESPN).
A giant table filled with turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, glazed carrots, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and other mouth-watering dishes will adorn the table in front of hosts Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon as they recap the day in sports and announce their annual Turkeys of the Year.
Berko, who is responsible for the PTI set décor as part of her many show responsibilities in Washington, D.C., loves PTI’s Thanksgiving tradition – and not just because the hosts have been known to dress as turkeys and pilgrims.
Mission accomplished!#HappyThanksgiving @tklittles @thisshowstinks pic.twitter.com/ZXviqaNUAD
— Bonnie Berko (@BonnieBerko) November 20, 2018
“It’s just great fun and everybody pitches in. I buy and bring in the food and then it takes all day to set up,” says Berko. “After the show, I take the food and divvy it up for the cast and crew and all three of our newsrooms. Everybody gets a little goodie bag to take home!”
In the spirit of the holiday season, Berko has even given out some of the PTI leftovers to strangers.
“We used to serve Terduckens, a giant turkey-chicken-duck thing that weighed about 50 pounds,” said Berko. “After the show, I would drive in search of needy people to share them with, and I would stop by this laundromat in hopes that a family doing laundry the day before Thanksgiving might enjoy an enormous turducken for dinner. It made me feel good to hand them out, and they seemed pretty pleased too!”
The above time-lapse video highlights the PTI team setting up its annual Thanksgiving feast.
Bonnie Berko and Emily Archacki produced the video above.
