When Jay Leno decided to return to NBC’s The Tonight Show in March 2010, it had a domino effect. Conan O’Brien had filled the talk show host’s slot in his absence, and following Leno’s return Conan’s show was moved back to 11:35pm.
Unfortunately for O’Brien, ratings fell, and after a high-profile stand-off, O’Brien announced his new show Conan would appear on TBS, taking over George Lopez‘s 11PM slot.
Lopez Tonight was moved back to 12am, and ratings have since plummeted for his show. Viewers decreased by 40%. O’Brien essentially put Lopez in the same position Leno put him in. In addition to the show’s poor ratings, it was also costly to produce.
Earlier today, TBS announced, “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.” Lopez Tonight first aired in November of 2009 and ran for two seasons.
What’s even more troublesome for TBS, however, is the fact that Conan isn’t doing so well either. The first month the show aired, two million viewers tuned in nightly. Viewership is now down to 700,000.
When The George Lopez Show was cancelled back in 2007, Lopez didn’t take it well. He took it personally, telling the LA Times, “TV just became really, really white again.” Hopefully he’ll take this cancellation better, however his representatives have yet to comment on the cancellation.
