For 17 years, The Peter Mezzetti Show has sought to keep viewers informed and entertained. Now, the public access show is closing in on its 500th episode, which is set to air in late July.

Mezzetti, a longtime Clinton resident, has hosted his public access TV show since 2005. Only recently did he realize just how long that is.

“I realized at the end of November that the 500th episode would happen sometime in the middle of 2022,” Mezzetti said.

With about 20 shows to go until the landmark episode, Mezzetti has begun looking ahead for what he wants to do.

“I normally tape two half-hour interviews with two guests, but I’ve been thinking about maybe doing one, hour-long interview with one guest,” Mezzetti said. “There are still some final details that need to be figured out.

“I have a couple of irons in the fire for who the guest will be,” Mezzetti said.

The 500th episode will be filmed either on July 18 or 25, depending on vacation schedules for himself and the recording studio, Mezzetti said.

Mezzetti recalled that the idea for the show started with a fateful visit to Comcast back in 2005. Mezzetti said he was dropping something off at the Comcast building in Clinton when an employee mentioned that Clinton was the only town in the area without a public access show.

Mezzetti then went to Town Hall where his mother, Dolly Mezzetti, was participating in a board of selectman meeting. After the meeting Mezzetti told then-first selectman Willie Fritz what the Comcast employee told him.

“So, then Willie gets up and comes around the desk and shakes my hand and said, ‘Congrats it’s yours,’” Mezzetti recalled with a laugh.

Soon after that conversation, Mezzetti began taping the show with the first episode being a 30-minute interview with Fritz about that year’s town budget.

“I knew the show would last, but I didn’t know it would last this long,” Mezzetti said.

Mezzetti described his show as having a focus on “state and local issues” with an impressive roster of regular guests. Some big-name guests have also appeared on the show over the years.

“One of my notable guests was right after the gubernatorial convention I got a call from then-candidate Dannel Malloy saying he was in the area and asked if I was taping a show. I wasn’t going to, but I said ‘I’ll call you right back’ and I put together a 30-minute show in like 25 minutes and we taped it,” said Mezzetti. “One of my favorite guests would have to be Dr. Henry Lee. He’s very animated, very nice, and very outgoing, so he’s a lot of fun to have on,” said Mezzetti.

On reaching the precipice of the 500th episode, Mezzetti said, “I just want to thank the viewers for watching all these years and my family for the years of support and all the people who have helped. Who knows how many shows we’ll end up doing, but hopefully it’s a lot more.”

The show airs at 7 p.m. on Tuesdays on Channel 19 on Comcast. The episodes are also available on-demand on VSCTV.com. The show is taped at Valley Shore Community TV, The Shops at Water’s Edge, 1587 Boston Post Road, Westbrook.

Story ideas can be submitted and more information on the show found at petermezzetti.com.