There’s a Warholian triumph in Norway called “Slow TV,” which is sort of a long-form staring contest, except that viewers spend eight or so hours staring at real-time knitting contests and train trips. Rights have been purchased by American producers, though no one knows yet if this antidote to instant gratification will translate. From Nancy Tartaglione at Deadline.com:

“Knit one, purl … eight-plus hours of live stitching? That’s what’s happening tonight on Norwegian public broadcaster NRK2 as folks around the country gather in viewing parties. The show is part of a phenomenon known as Slow TV which has increasingly captivated Norway. The overall gist of the concept, to which LMNO Productions recently acquired U.S. rights, is a hybrid of unhurried documentary coupled with hours and hours of continuous coverage provided by fixed cameras trained on a subject or an event. Prior to tonight, those have included a 7.5-hour train journey, a 134-hour coastal cruise, a stack of firewood and salmon. Tonight, NRK2 will turn its lens on National Knitting Evening. Four hours of discussion on the popular pastime will kick off at 8 PM local, before a sheep gets trotted out at midnight to be sheared and its wool spun into yarn.”

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Colbert celebrates Slow TV: