TV News: TBS Cancels Talk Show ‘Lopez Tonight’ With George Lopez

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CHICAGO – Big news in from TBS. After almost two years on the air, “Lopez Tonight” has been given the boot. The late night talk show that premiered November 9, 2009 isn’t just coming to a close; it’s more like a crashing halt.

TBS announced the stoppage of the show is effective immediately. Tomorrow night’s episode will be the last for George Lopez, bringing the sudden end to the Conan/Lopez late night pairing. The network released the following comments about the cancellation:

“TBS has reached the difficult decision not to order a third season of Lopez Tonight,” the network announced. “We are proud to have partnered with George Lopez, who is an immensely talented comedian and entertainer. TBS has valued its partnership with George and appreciates all of his hard work on behalf of the network, both on and off the air.”

TMZ has reported that much of the struggle for George came when Conan O’Brien joined the network; a move that seemed like it would be gaining viewers for TBS. Rather, very similar to Leno’s ratings destroying Conan on “The Tonight Show,” “Lopez Tonight” saw its audience drop by 40%.

As recent as Monday, “Lopez Tonight” only pulled in a 0.2 rating in the 18-49 year old demographic, a rating that equals a lowly 400,000 viewers. Of course, this could be somewhat due to the “Conan” ratings only bringing George a lead in of a 0.5 rating (715,000 viewers).

With the sudden departure for Lopez, the question may arise as to the risk for “Conan” to have the same sudden end. All that can be said for sure is that TBS is not afraid to suddenly pull the rug out from under their late night hosts.

Sources: E Online, TMZ

By TIM MARTENS
Contributing Writer
HollywoodChicago.com