Friday, March 29, 2024

TV: Nick Cannon’s Talk Show Gets Swift Cancellation After Just Six Months, Jerry Springer’s Judge Show Cut Too

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The world of TV syndication is tough, kids.

Nick Cannon’s talk show began last fall and never garnered more than 500,000 viewers. On most weeks it was 400,000. And now the show has been cancelled by Debmar Mercury Productions in March,. They clearly see that no one else is coming to the audience.

Cannon’s show was postponed for a whole season after his anti-Semitism scandal got him temporarily fired by Viacom and MTV. Cannon went on a big PR campaign to win back Hollywood executives, dragging in a rabbi and so on to his podcast. But he never really disavowed Louis Farrakhan.

Why did Debmar Mercury go through with it? Maybe they had to contractually. But there was no promotion and little interest when the talk show debuted. Cannon himself made headlines when he announced his 2 month old son had died. Then came the announcement that he was expecting an 9th child with another woman. The first part was tragic, the second part was, uh, something else. But this is not what draws in an afternoon audience.

Debmar Mercury has had other issues this season with “The Wendy Williams Show.” The host disappeared, guest hosts had to come in, and now it will be retitled “The Sherri Shepherd Show.” So how much mishegos can you deal with in one season? Especially when you have new heavy hitters like Jennifer Hudson coming in September.

Also cancelled is Jerry Springer’s “Judge Jerry” show which made a mockery of the already questionable court shows. That Jerry Springer and his ilk are still on TV is a sad comment on feeding the public piles of garbage. It’s beneath McDonald’s, and that’s saying something.

More cancellations are going to come as the syndie world is not sustainable at low audience levels. “Drew Barrymore” may be next to go. She hasn’t risen above 500,000 viewers in almost two seasons. CBS has tried everything since they own the show, but even putting Drew on “60 Minutes” wouldn’t save her from competition with Kelly and Ryan at 9am.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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