Last year we learned that Anderson Cooper was getting his own daytime talk show called Anderson. The ratings for the first season weren’t that great so the show got revamped a little bit for season 2 and the show was renamed Anderson Live. Welp, the ratings for the second season have still been pretty bad and as a result, Warner Bros. has announced that the show will be canceled at the end of this second season. Anderson Cooper remains one of CNN‘s most popular broadcasters but, apparently, he just can’t carry a daytime talkshow all on his own.
The syndication arm of the Warner Brothers studio has decided that there will not be a third season of “Anderson,” the daily talk show hosted by Anderson Cooper. Citing disappointing ratings, a studio executive, who insisted on not being identified because the studio had planned no official release on the decision, said on Monday that the entire talk television market has been struggling to build audiences. Mr. Cooper’s show, which is produced by Telepictures, will end after the summer of 2013. The executive spoke because some of the stations that have been carrying Mr. Cooper’s show have begun making feelers about replacement shows, and the news was certain to leak out through one of them, the executive said. The Warner Brothers syndication unit issued a statement on Monday:
“We are extremely proud of Anderson and the show that he and the entire production team have produced. While we made significant changes to the format, set and produced it live in its second season, the series will not be coming back for a third season in a marketplace that has become increasingly difficult to break through. We will continue to deliver top-quality shows throughout next summer.”
Mr. Cooper released his own statement:
“I am very proud of the work that our terrific staff has put into launching and sustaining our show for two seasons. I am also grateful to Telepictures for giving me the opportunity, and indebted to viewers, who have responded so positively. I look forward to doing more great shows this season, and though I’m sorry we won’t be continuing, I have truly enjoyed it.”
The decision was not a reflection of any lack of faith in Mr. Cooper, the executive said, but an acknowledgement of the business realities in daytime talk television. The studio “could have renewed the show but could not create a viable economic business model to move forward,” the executive said.
Ah well, I guess it was to be expected. I’m not a fan of daytime talk shows but you can tell which ones are the really good ones and which ones are not. Anderson, gods bless him, is a great reporter but I never found him to be a great talkshow host. Honestly, I thought I was the only person who didn’t love his show … clearly, that is not the case. At least Anderson has many months left to go to have as much fun as possible on Anderson Live to finish out this season. I can’t feel too bad for good ol’ Coop. He is not going anywhere, he’ll still be on our TVs daily. Never fret Anderson fans, we’ll still have our Coop. Are there any fans of the show out there? Are you bummed?
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Aw I love his daytime show. I just am rarely home to watch it and don’t have DVR. Oh well, I don’t know how he did two shows a day anyways. He needs some rest!
Awww..Bummer! I’m watching Anderson Live right now! I don’t love his show, but it’s entertaining enough..Especially when he giggles..At least he still has a crazy great career even without the show..
I wasn’t so crazy about his show last season but I really have enjoyed the new format – and post-publicly gay Anderson is so much fun! It’s a shame he’s getting canned while Jeff Probst, Steve Harvey and Ricki Lake, bless their hearts, are running reeaaally terrible talkies.