TBS Cancels "Lopez Tonight"
by Chris Harnick
posted Aug 10th 2011


TBS has pulled the plug on George Lopez's late night talk show, "Lopez Tonight".

"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 network said in a statement.

"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."



"Lopez Tonight" premiered in November 2009 to 1.7 million viewers on TBS. When Conan O'Brien joined TBS, his series pushed "Lopez" from 11PM to midnight.

"Lopez Tonight" has been averaging about 400,000 viewers.

http://www.aoltv.com/2011/08/10/tbs-cancels-lopez-tonight/

TBS has yanked struggling late-night series "Lopez Tonight," a decision a top Turner chief chalked up to balking at the cost of committing to another season.

Turner Entertainment Networks president Steve Koonin explained Wednesday that the cancellation was triggered by a looming deadline on an option TBS had to pick up that would have committed the network to another season at the same salary levels for Lopez and others involved with the show.

"We did not feel that we could do a deal at the same level we could before based on the ratings trend we had seen," he said. "It just wasn't doing what I needed it to be doing to justify the investment."

Telepictures Prods. series, hosted by comedian George Lopez, will end its run on the cabler with Thursday's installment. The network had been considering pulling the plug as early as May, as Variety first reported.

Though Koonin wouldn't specify how much "Lopez" cost TBS to produce, he did note it was an expensive program considering that it had all the frills of a broadcast late-night program, complete with band and fancy set.

Koonin hasn't ruled out taking another stab at an original talk show at midnight and added that O'Brien will stay put at 11 p.m. "We might in the future give it another try," he said. "We think late night is still a very viable arena."

Reruns of "Lopez" will air over the next few weeks, eventually to be replaced by syndicated episodes of "The Office." Still to be determined is whether the network will attempt to replace Lopez with a new talk show.

The cancellation marks an abrupt ending to the delicate dance Turner Broadcasting had to perform in April 2010 when it made the decision to bring in Conan O'Brien to its late-night lineup, pushing "Lopez" to midnight.

"Lopez" had been fading in the ratings since moving back an hour, though that was to be expected given the level of homes using televisions (HUT) is lower at midnight than 11 p.m. The series dropped 40% among total viewers and 34% among adults 18-49 from the second season to date as compared with its first season, in Nielsen ratings that include live-plus-seven days.

"Lopez" began in Nov. 2009 as TBS' first attempt to fill its late-night slot with original programming. Lopez, best known for starring in the ABC sitcom "The George Lopez Show," was the first Hispanic-American to headline a U.S. talk show.

Sensitive about being perceived as the cause of a disruption similar to the one he weathered at NBC, O'Brien reportedly signed on with TBS back in April 2010 only when Lopez reached out and welcomed him to the network.

O'Brien and Lopez made several displays of mutual support, issuing statements of goodwill and appearing on each other's shows.

Lopez broke the news to his staff Wednesday morning before the network announced the cancellation. Incidentally, the news didn't keep the comedian from making a scheduled appearance at Dodgers Stadium to throw out the first pitch at the team's afternoon game.

The network issued a statement wishing Lopez him well. "TBS has valued its partnership with George and appreciates all of his work on behalf of the network, both on and off the air."

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118041146

Adiós, Lopez Tonight! TBS Pulls the Plug After 2 Seasons

TBS has gone ahead and pulled the plug on Lopez Tonight after less than two years on the air. When it premiered back in November of 2009, the George Lopez talk show was a hit for the cable network, but ratings decreased rapidly over the show's first season, and viewership has decreased by a despicable 40% since his move to midnight last November. To put things into perspective, George Lopez, the talk show host's self titled family sitcom that currently airs in reruns on Nick at Nite averages close to 2 million viewers a night, while his talk show only manages to gather 400,000 viewers per episode.

Full article (http://ryanschwartz.posterous.com/adios-lopez-tonight)

George Lopez, Conan O'Brien React to "Lopez Tonight" Cancellation
by Jean Bentley
posted Aug 11th 2011


When TBS announced that Conan O'Brien would be taking over George Lopez's 11PM time slot for his new late night show last year, the first person to congratulate Coco on his new job was Lopez himself, whose "Lopez Tonight" was pushed an hour later to midnight.

TBS announced yesterday that it had decided to cancel "Lopez Tonight" instead of ordering a third season of the talk show, and Thursday's show will be the series finale.



Ever the comedian, Lopez told viewers on his show Wednesday night that he'll be okay ... sort of.

"Like every TV star before me, I'mma find some crack. I'mma get on the pipe! Lose that unwanted 110 pounds I wanted to lose," he joked. "But I'm taking it good, I'm straight, believe me. I'm fine. My goddesses are a wreck."



O'Brien took a more serious, heartfelt approach on his show Wednesday night, and thanked Lopez for his support and friendship over the past year:

"Had it not been for George being so incredibly supportive of me a year and a half ago, I would not have come to TBS and we would not be doing this show right now.

I owe that man a lot, and frankly, it makes me very sad that TBS and George could not work this out. I really like being a part of a late night lineup with George, and I wish that this could've continued.

So tonight, all of our thoughts are with George and his entire staff and crew. We understand, believe me, how hard this is for all of you, and we wish you all the best."

http://www.aoltv.com/2011/08/11/george-lopez-conan-obrien-lopez-tonight-cancellation/

George Lopez Says "I Lost Some Work Because I'm Brown"

Ugh. Pathetic.

Yesterday's news that the low rated Lopez Tonight had been cancelled by TBS broke before last night's episode of the late night talk show was filmed, and George wanted to make sure that everyone knew that he was cancelled because of his skin color, and not because of his atrocious ratings. In 2011 do you really have to play the race card, George?

Read the full story (http://ryanschwartz.posterous.com/george-lopez-says-i-lost-some-work-because-im)

George Lopez, Conan O'Brien React to "Lopez Tonight" Cancellation
by Jean Bentley
posted Aug 11th 2011


When TBS announced that Conan O'Brien would be taking over George Lopez's 11PM time slot for his new late night show last year, the first person to congratulate Coco on his new job was Lopez himself, whose "Lopez Tonight" was pushed an hour later to midnight.

TBS announced yesterday that it had decided to cancel "Lopez Tonight" instead of ordering a third season of the talk show, and Thursday's show will be the series finale.



Ever the comedian, Lopez told viewers on his show Wednesday night that he'll be okay ... sort of.

"Like every TV star before me, I'mma find some crack. I'mma get on the pipe! Lose that unwanted 110 pounds I wanted to lose," he joked. "But I'm taking it good, I'm straight, believe me. I'm fine. My goddesses are a wreck."



O'Brien took a more serious, heartfelt approach on his show Wednesday night, and thanked Lopez for his support and friendship over the past year:

"Had it not been for George being so incredibly supportive of me a year and a half ago, I would not have come to TBS and we would not be doing this show right now.

I owe that man a lot, and frankly, it makes me very sad that TBS and George could not work this out. I really like being a part of a late night lineup with George, and I wish that this could've continued.

So tonight, all of our thoughts are with George and his entire staff and crew. We understand, believe me, how hard this is for all of you, and we wish you all the best."

http://www.aoltv.com/2011/08/11/george-lopez-conan-obrien-lopez-tonight-cancellation/
Conan is one man with integrity. That was so heartfelt last night and Conan was nearly emotional last night talking about it to a point he had a hard time transitioning back to comedy.

Conan rocks!!!

NO he doesn't. Conan SUCKS, has NEVER been funny, and has NO idea how to tell a joke!

Even his OWN fans have been commented about how AWFUL his monologue is!

Lopez's cancellation is Conan's fault! Lopez's ratings fell 40% after Conan shoved him back an hour! Lopez was doing fine and getting about a million viewers a night before Conan showed up!

Conan's KARMA will come back to get him!!

Conan is one man with integrity. That was so heartfelt last night and Conan was nearly emotional last night talking about it to a point he had a hard time transitioning back to comedy.

Conan rocks!!!

I agree. All the more reason I am PROUD to be a Conan fan.

NO he doesn't. Conan SUCKS, has NEVER been funny, and has NO idea how to tell a joke!

Even his OWN fans have been commented about how AWFUL his monologue is!

Lopez's cancellation is Conan's fault! Lopez's ratings fell 40% after Conan shoved him back an hour! Lopez was doing fine and getting about a million viewers a night before Conan showed up!

Conan's KARMA will come back to get him!!
Conan's brand of humor is one that a person has to acquire to. He is the modern day version of Johnny Carson just listen to his monologues and you can hear bits of Johnny in them. I like that silly slapstick style he has. He was much funnier and looser on Late Night and he is getting that form back.

Conan did not want the job initially because he did not want to do to George what Jay Leno and NBC did to him. It was Lopez who encouraged and urged Conan to take the 11:00 gig at TBS.

George Lopez is not funny and was not good as a talk show host. Sorry what happened to him and he will land somewhere.

http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/media/content/why-george-lopez-really-lo st-out-he-failed-create-new-voice-young-urban-america

As Eric Deggans notes, the young urban audience Lopez was trying to capture has already been grabbed by Fallon. "Lopez's program never really jelled," says Deggans, "forever flailing in an attempt to make its host look hip, cutting edge and uproariously funny — too often failing on all three counts." But, he notes, "if anybody is articulating a new blend of cultures for late night audiences, it is NBC's surprise success Jimmy Fallon, who regularly taps house band The Roots and a few other contributors of color to create a compelling pastiche of Millennial style for the few college kids who aren't watching Jon Stewart or Adult Swim." PLUS: What should TBS do with Lopez's timeslot — make it a home for comedy nerds?

http://www.grantland.com/blog/hollywood-prospectus/post/_/id/32357/wha t-does-lopez-tonights-cancellation-mean-for-conan

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/blog/BC_Beat/32613-Here_s_Why_George_ Lopez_Got_Cancelled.php

To be honest, I did not find all of George's monologues funny. Sometimes I did but there are sometimes I felt "Ehh". However, I do not want to see this show canceled. I would to see it come back for a season three. I do wish Mr. Lopez the best. Give us something else, George.

Conan's monologues are no better! Even his own fans complain about it. Conan does NOT know how to tell a joke!

He's only .2 higher in the ratings than Lopez. That's not exactly a large safety cushion!

Conan's monologues are no better! Even his own fans complain about it. Conan does NOT know how to tell a joke!

He's only .2 higher in the ratings than Lopez. That's not exactly a large safety cushion!

I'm a fan of Conan and I love his monologues. Not every joke works but that's what makes it funny, his interaction with the audience when a joke doesn't work.

Conan's monologue aside, he has that loyal fanbase that Lopez didn't have. The only real problem with the fanbase is that many of them choose to watch him online instead of on TV to help with his ratings. I think that Warner Bros. is aware that he still has a large audience and they can advertise online during his show or they should anyways. Take advantage of his poularity online.

I'm a fan of Conan and I love his monologues. Not every joke works but that's what makes it funny, his interaction with the audience when a joke doesn't work.

Conan's monologue aside, he has that loyal fanbase that Lopez didn't have. The only real problem with the fanbase is that many of them choose to watch him online instead of on TV to help with his ratings. I think that Warner Bros. is aware that he still has a large audience and they can advertise online during his show or they should anyways. Take advantage of his poularity online.

The masses do NOT find Conan funny. The Tonight Show lost MILLIONS of viewers in ALL age groups once Leno left and Conan came.

Conan's horrible monologue is what turned so many people off!

Conan is a GOOFBALL and is not on the entertainment level of Jay Leno which is why his goofy a$$ is on CABLE instead of NBC

I LOVE YOU JAY!!

GEORGE KEEP YOUR HEAD UP!!!

HEY CONAN, F*CK YOU!!

Conan is a GOOFBALL and is not on the entertainment level of Jay Leno which is why his goofy a$$ is on CABLE instead of NBC

I LOVE YOU JAY!!

GEORGE KEEP YOUR HEAD UP!!!

HEY CONAN, F*CK YOU!!

The term "Too Hip for the Room" applies to Conan and NBC. He needed to be with a channel that doesn't treat him like sh*t. So he said goodbye to NBC and hello to TBS. Jay is just fine with that treatment as he doesn't have any self-respect. So he stayed at NBC, (to quote the late Bill Hicks) "a company man to the bitter f***ing end."

It's all good though. Jay's got his show and Conan's got his show. Both fanbases can be happy now.

What's wrong with cable anyways? Some of the best shows this past decade have been on cable. Conan's got a show on television and has a loyal fanbase that loves him.

Also, how is being a "goofball" bad for someone who is in COMEDY. Goofball is a compliment.

As for Lopez, his show would have been cancelled after it's first season but Conan got the show renewed for a second season by coming to TBS. It didn't help George out much since both shows have two completely different audiences and so after two seasons, "Lopez Tonight" came to an end. Someone at TBS said that Lopez wasn't getting the demographics that he was supposed to and that's one of the reasons his show was cancelled.

Oh and I agree with you one one thing. Conan and Jay are NOT on the same comedy level. Jay is so mainstream (middle of the line comedy, stuff that EVERYONE can get), while Conan's got a smarter show that's more cult and not everybody is gonna get, which makes his fans feel cooler and which is why his ratings are lower. More people want to watch Leno to fall asleep to, as opposed to staying up and watching the entire Conan show.

Anytime I get upset about Jay Leno, I just watch the video of his White House correspondents Dinner where he BOMBED!!! It was so beautiful. He didn't have his band leader to laugh at his jokes and he didn't have a "Laugh" sign to flash at the audience. So they didn't know that they were supposed to laugh at that crap he calls comedy. Priceless.

The term "Too Hip for the Room" applies to Conan and NBC. He needed to be with a channel that doesn't treat him like sh*t. So he said goodbye to NBC and hello to TBS. Jay is just fine with that treatment as he doesn't have any self-respect. So he stayed at NBC, (to quote the late Bill Hicks) "a company man to the bitter f***ing end."

It's all good though. Jay's got his show and Conan's got his show. Both fanbases can be happy now.

What's wrong with cable anyways? Some of the best shows this past decade have been on cable. Conan's got a show on television and has a loyal fanbase that loves him.

Also, how is being a "goofball" bad for someone who is in COMEDY. Goofball is a compliment.

As for Lopez, his show would have been cancelled after it's first season but Conan got the show renewed for a second season by coming to TBS. It didn't help George out much since both shows have two completely different audiences and so after two seasons, "Lopez Tonight" came to an end. Someone at TBS said that Lopez wasn't getting the demographics that he was supposed to and that's one of the reasons his show was cancelled.

Oh and I agree with you one one thing. Conan and Jay are NOT on the same comedy level. Jay is so mainstream (middle of the line comedy, stuff that EVERYONE can get), while Conan's got a smarter show that's more cult and not everybody is gonna get, which makes his fans feel cooler and which is why his ratings are lower. More people want to watch Leno to fall asleep to, as opposed to staying up and watching the entire Conan show.

Anytime I get upset about Jay Leno, I just watch the video of his White House correspondents Dinner where he BOMBED!!! It was so beautiful. He didn't have his band leader to laugh at his jokes and he didn't have a "Laugh" sign to flash at the audience. So they didn't know that they were supposed to laugh at that crap he calls comedy. Priceless.


He is a goofball because he has to jump up and down like a MONKEY for people to laugh. Jay only has to stand still in one spot and deliver.

You know, I didnt watch Lopez Tonight because I watched Jimmy Kimmel and then Jimmy Fallon. I cant really make a fair point about it. I will say I love Conan but his show hasnt been the same without his bits. Celebrity Survey, The SAT segment, Triumph, when he would "talk" to celebrities on the tv screen etc. The show hasnt been the same without his NBC bits. You know, Lopez had to deal with some tough competition. He had Letterman, Kimmel, Fallon, Leno all on between Lopez timeslot. How can anyone compete with that?

You know, I didnt watch Lopez Tonight because I watched Jimmy Kimmel and then Jimmy Fallon. I cant really make a fair point about it. I will say I love Conan but his show hasnt been the same without his bits. Celebrity Survey, The SAT segment, Triumph, when he would "talk" to celebrities on the tv screen etc. The show hasnt been the same without his NBC bits. You know, Lopez had to deal with some tough competition. He had Letterman, Kimmel, Fallon, Leno all on between Lopez timeslot. How can anyone compete with that?

Good Point, that last 30 minutes is too much competiton

Conan is a GOOFBALL and is not on the entertainment level of Jay Leno which is why his goofy a$$ is on CABLE instead of NBC

I LOVE YOU JAY!!

GEORGE KEEP YOUR HEAD UP!!!

HEY CONAN, F*CK YOU!!

WOW, and I thought I was passionate for Leno!

But you are RIGHT ON! Conan was never very funny even on Late Night and never had a big enough fan base to be on Tonight.

Leno has DECADES of standup experience while Conan has NONE! Writing for a stupid cartoon does NOT translate to standup!

WOW, and I thought I was passionate for Leno!

But you are RIGHT ON! Conan was never very funny even on Late Night and never had a big enough fan base to be on Tonight.

Leno has DECADES of standup experience while Conan has NONE! Writing for a stupid cartoon does NOT translate to standup!


Conan is a CARTOON lol

WOW, and I thought I was passionate for Leno!

But you are RIGHT ON! Conan was never very funny even on Late Night and never had a big enough fan base to be on Tonight.

Leno has DECADES of standup experience while Conan has NONE! Writing for a stupid cartoon does NOT translate to standup!

Conan may not have as big an audience as Leno but you make it seem like he's a failure. He hosted a successful late night show for 17 years before trying out The Tonight Show and then moving to cable. You make it sound like writing for a cartoon is lame or beneath someone. He wrote for one of the most popular cartoons ever made and he also wrote for Saturday Night Live, which also is one of the most popular shows ever made. He's got some great credits, I'd say.

Conan may not have as big an audience as Leno but you make it seem like he's a failure. He hosted a successful late night show for 17 years before trying out The Tonight Show and then moving to cable. You make it sound like writing for a cartoon is lame or beneath someone. He wrote for one of the most popular cartoons ever made and he also wrote for Saturday Night Live, which also is one of the most popular shows ever made. He's got some great credits, I'd say.


He took over the Tonight Show and couldn't deliver good ratings which equals FAIL

He took over the Tonight Show and couldn't deliver good ratings which equals FAIL

Kind of like how when Leno first took over "The Tonight Show" how the ratings were down for the first few years. Except that NBC gave Leno more time to build an audience. Leno wasn't an unknown. He had guest hosted The Tonight Show for a while before taking over but he wasn't able to pull in the big ratings right away.

Though, I wasn't referring to Conan's time on "The Tonight Show." I was just showing that he may not have "standup experience", but that writing for two successful comedies and hosting a popular late night show for 17 years is a big deal.

Kind of like how when Leno first took over "The Tonight Show" how the ratings were down for the first few years. Except that NBC gave Leno more time to build an audience. Leno wasn't an unknown. He had guest hosted The Tonight Show for a while before taking over but he wasn't able to pull in the big ratings right away.

Though, I wasn't referring to Conan's time on "The Tonight Show." I was just showing that he may not have "standup experience", but that writing for two successful comedies and hosting a popular late night show for 17 years is a big deal.


Of course you wasn't referring to Conan's time on TNS because he couldn't get it done. More time? Whatever

Dont mean to disagree, TV Fan but I do. I dont think Conan's a failure. Like it was mentioned above, he worked on The Simpsons and Saturday Night Live. Now, true, it seems like The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien didnt work but The Jay Leno Show didnt work either. I was actually in favor of the Jay Leno Show because I was going to finally see of Jay's comedy after choosing and watching Letterman for so long.
But back to my point. The Jay Leno Show didnt work and since Jay has gone back to The Tonight Show, hasnt his ratings dropped too?

Dont mean to disagree, TV Fan but I do. I dont think Conan's a failure. Like it was mentioned above, he worked on The Simpsons and Saturday Night Live. Now, true, it seems like The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien didnt work but The Jay Leno Show didnt work either. I was actually in favor of the Jay Leno Show because I was going to finally see of Jay's comedy after choosing and watching Letterman for so long.
But back to my point. The Jay Leno Show didnt work and since Jay has gone back to The Tonight Show, hasnt his ratings dropped too?


I didn't say he was a failure, i said he FAILED at the Tonight Show

He is the modern day version of Johnny Carson.

I find this statement to be offensive lol

I find this statement to be offensive lol
I don't why you would find that offensive. At many levels he does remind me of Johnny Carson. Carson style was silly and slapstick like Conan's. What Conan was doing on the Tonght Show was not working but it worked on Late Night. That was a different audience. The Tonight Show's audience is mostly older and middle aged adults whereas Late Night was more college aged and young adults. Conan is good at the silly slapstick risque humor without being in your face with it. He has a boyish way about him that you cannot help but laugh and when him and Andy are together it is no good.

I don't why you would find that offensive. At many levels he does remind me of Johnny Carson. Carson style was silly and slapstick like Conan's. What Conan was doing on the Tonght Show was not working but it worked on Late Night. That was a different audience. The Tonight Show's audience is mostly older and middle aged adults whereas Late Night was more college aged and young adults. Conan is good at the silly slapstick risque humor without being in your face with it. He has a boyish way about him that you cannot help but laugh and when him and Andy are together it is no good.

Also, a compliment that Rich Little gave to Johnny Carson saying that he's really funny when a joke in the monologue doesn't work, that it's Carson's reaction and joke about the joke not working that is what's so funny. I feel that way about Conan. A lot of the times when a joke doesn't work, it ends up being hilarious because of Conan's reaction to the non-working joke.

Anytime I get upset about Jay Leno, I just watch the video of his White House correspondents Dinner where he BOMBED!!! It was so beautiful. He didn't have his band leader to laugh at his jokes and he didn't have a "Laugh" sign to flash at the audience. So they didn't know that they were supposed to laugh at that crap he calls comedy. Priceless.

Dude, you're DELUSIONAL! Watching that HORRIBLE Conan has fried your brain!

Conan bombs EVERY NIGHT! Even his own fans complain about how awful his monologue is. When Conan was on Tonight he lost MILLIONS of Leno's fans since Conan has NO idea how to tell a joke!

You also LIE because you say Conan's fans watch his entire show. LMAO!! Often they don't watch it AT ALL! They reported on the news when Lopez was cancelled that Conan's ratings have suffered badly too as many of his fans prefer to just watch CLIPS of his show online instead of the entire show!

It's no surprise that fans of such a LOSER like Conan would spew LIE and LIE like this! Conan SUCKS, isn't even remotely funny, and will only continue to sink lower! WHY do you think Fox cut off talks with Conan? Then Conan begged Fox not to tell TBS since he didn't want them to think he was a pathetic loser than no one wanted!

In fact don't be surprised if Conan is completely GONE from TV within 2 or 3 years!

Dont mean to disagree, TV Fan but I do. I dont think Conan's a failure. Like it was mentioned above, he worked on The Simpsons and Saturday Night Live. Now, true, it seems like The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien didnt work but The Jay Leno Show didnt work either. I was actually in favor of the Jay Leno Show because I was going to finally see of Jay's comedy after choosing and watching Letterman for so long.
But back to my point. The Jay Leno Show didnt work and since Jay has gone back to The Tonight Show, hasnt his ratings dropped too?

Yes but Leno is still the KING of Late Night with over 3.5 milllion viewers which is MILLIONS more than that pathethic pretender Conan! Plus ALL of Late Night is down. It's just not as popular as it used to be since there is so much reality crap, other options, and alternative media that many people don't even watch TV anymore.

Plus that idiot Zucker turned a lot of people off of Late Night by FORCING the mo

http://www.screenjunkies.com/tv/tv-lists/9-talk-shows-that-crashed-and-burned-faster-than-lopez-tonight/

http://www.screenjunkies.com/tv/tv-lists/9-talk-shows-that-crashed-and-burned-faster-than-lopez-tonight/2/

I can't believe Conan is still on...his ratings are horrible!