Can an African-American talk show survive on late night television?
Three months shy of celebrating his one-year anniversary, the only African-American late night talk show has been canceled! Yesterday, to the surprise of many, CBS announced that “The Arsenio Hall Show” is getting the boot because the show just wasn’t pulling in the viewers like the original show which aired from 1989-1994.
“Unfortunately, ‘The Arsenio Hall Show’ will not return for a second season. While there are many loyal fans of the show, the series did not grow its audience enough to continue. Arsenio is a tremendous talent and we’d like to thank him for all the hard work and energy he put into the show. We’d also like to thank Tribune and all our station group partners for the support of the show.”
Back in February, there was an announcement that the show was coming back for a second season, but some bigwig must have changed their mind. Arsenio gave his thanks to everyone who supported him for the year he was on the air in a brief statement.
“When I started this adventure with CTD and Tribute, we all knew it would be a challenge — I’m gratified for the year we’ve had and proud of the show we created. I’d like to thank everyone on my staff for rallying around me and striving to make the best show possible each night.”
What I liked about The Arsenio Hall Show is that he booked a lot of guests that you wouldn’t normally see on other late night shows. It’s like everyone had a chance to tell their story (even Vine sensation TerRio.), but a more A-list guest list would have probably helped keep him on air.
There is the possibility that another network may pick him up. Maybe BET or OWN?
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