14 DAY TRIAL // George Lopez is saying good night and goodbye to his late-night show on TBS, Lopez Tonight, at the end of the current season. The network has announced the decision to pull the plug on the talk show after two years.
Instead of coming out with an announcement that George Lopez will be back on for a third season, TBS has done the exact contrary of that, canceling it.
In a statement to Entertainment Weekly, TBS enumerates the predictable platitudes, praising Lopez for his work and speaking of what an honor it was to have him on board.
It doesn’t say a thing as to the reason behind the cancelation, but EW points out that poor ratings were to blame – and Lopez just had to go.
“TBS has reached the difficult decision not to order a third season of Lopez Tonight. Thursday will be the final episode of the show,” the statement reads.
“We are proud to have partnered with George Lopez, who is an immensely talented comedian and entertainer,” TBS adds.
“TBS has valued its partnership with George and appreciates all of his work on behalf of the network, both on and off the air,” it further says.
One of the reasons why ratings for Lopez’s show took a severe hit in the second season is that TBS brought Conan O’Brien on board, EW informs.
Lopez Tonight was moved up and this is believed to have affected ratings in a negative way.
“The first season of Lopez Tonight averaged 911,000 viewers at 11 p.m., 2010-11 season dropped to 543,000 at midnight. Conan has averaged 1 million viewers in the 11 p.m. slot since joining the schedule,” EW says.
Because he signed a multi-year deal with TBS, after the whole NBC debacle of last year, Conan is staying put where he is right now. Moreover, he’s making about $10 million a year with his new job, as we also informed you yesterday.
No word yet on what George Lopez’s plans for the future might be.