George Lopez Canceled After Less Than a Year of Following Conan O'Brien Late Night on TBS
Updated at the bottom with a statement from TBS. First posted at 12:27 p.m.
Lopez, last night.
They say that Latinos are "the help," but this is ridiculous.
After Conan O'Brien took over George Lopez's slot on TBS in November, the move was spun as a comedy all-star package, with Lopez coming on after Conan's main draw. Lopez even said, "TBS a true destination in late night."
So George Lopez helped pioneer the slot for Conan, putting TBS on the map for the insomniac set. And what does he get? It turns out our brown brother might have been used. Today it was announced that ...
... L.A.-based Lopez Tonight, the only English-language late-night show hosted by a Latino, ever (unless you count Billy Crystal as Fernando Llamas on SNL), has been canceled.
The irony is that O'Brien came to TBS after a similar scheduling dance with Jay Leno, resulting in his being left with a shite slot on NBC that he walked away from.
Lopez was on an hour after Conan, at midnight in most markets, though you could catch both of them much earlier on the West Coast via DirecTV.
According to reports Lopez cancellation is "effective immediately," as in don't book anybody after tonight, it would seem.
Lopez, notes E!, "hasn't ever exactly been a ratings bonanza for the network."
Still, a sad day for the Latin nation.
Added: Looks like Thursday night's show will be the last one.
Update: TBS sent the Weekly this statement, and as we read it we put on some melancholy, Mariachi-violin music.
TBS has reached the difficult decision not to order a third season of Lopez Tonight. Thursday will be the final episode of the show. 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 work on behalf of the network, both on and off the air.
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