Dinah!

Dinah! relaunched Dinah Shore's daytime presence in the mid 1970s by shifting from a cozy home-centered program to a livelier variety talk format. After Dinah's Place wrapped a season that highlighted cooking, crafts and occasional music with a single guest, the show returned in October 1974 retooled as Dinah!, featuring interviews, musical numbers and lighter entertainment segments. Shore remained the warm, conversational anchor, guiding studio guests and audiences through playful banter and performances. The series ran through 1981, and during summers it sometimes rebranded, offering a looser lineup and guest-driven episodes under the name Dinah and Friends.

The series premiered on 9 September 1974 and continued until 4 September 1981, evolving directly from the earlier Dinah's Place format that ended in May 1974, with the new variety talk show beginning in October 1974.

Dinah Shore was already a familiar TV presence, and the show’s title and format changes made it part of 1970s daytime television culture. Its blend of casual homemaking roots and variety elements reflected broader shifts in TV tastes, and the "Dinah" name remained associated with approachable celebrity interviews and music during its run.

Critical and popular reaction was modest, with a small sample rating around 6.7 out of 10. Audiences tended to remember Shore's easygoing style more than any single episode, and the program leaned on light entertainment, guest chemistry and musical showcases rather than heavy themes. It's best appreciated as a period piece that shows how a television host adapted her on-air persona to fit changing audience expectations in the 1970s.