Et Tu, Magic Johnson? The Late Night Shows That Failed to Launch
YEAR: 1983-84
EPISODES: 49
A year before he became known as the dad from Growing Pains, Alan Thicke was tapped to headline a late show after hosting a daytime talk show in Canada. A way-too-long 90-minute format got lost in syndication, but by the time they retooled it to 60 minutes, it was too late. Thicke, who died in 2016, once said the show was “ahead of its time — it should have been on in 2084, when all of us are dead.”
YEAR: 1986-87
You Might Also Like
EPISODES: 331
The funnywoman was Johnny Carson’s longtime Tonight Show fill-in host, but in 1986, after suffering various slights by NBC, she struck out on her own. Ratings started moderately OK but quickly sank, and various affiliates griped about having to carry the show at all. As for Carson, he learned of the new time-slot competition watching a press conference on TV. He never spoke to Rivers again.
YEAR: 1989-90
EPISODES: 298
Before luring David Letterman from NBC in 1993, CBS had no late night franchise. The Wheel of Fortune host was chosen for his affability and quick wit, but he proved a bland host in the late night format. The Arsenio Hall Show debuted the same month in syndication and quickly became the next-generation late night show of choice. The show was canceled in 1990 because of low ratings.
YEAR: 1993
EPISODES: 29
Launched the week between the debuts of Late Show With David Letterman and Late Night With Conan O’Brien, the show drew vicious reviews that complained of obnoxious audiences and the host’s desperate, failed attempts at pratfalling into America’s hearts. After canceling it a month later, then-Fox Broadcasting chair Lucie Salhany said “it was uncomfortable and embarrassing to watch.”
YEAR: 1998
EPISODES: 12
Basketball great Magic Johnson was not, it turns out, such a great talk show host. THR was kinder than other critics, saying Johnson’s “gentle and kind persona, so perfect for an interviewee, was too weak for an interviewer.” Johnson’s sidekick, meanwhile, comedian Craig Shoemaker, had such terrible chemistry with the host that he was fired on the third episode — during a commercial break.
