Poor Queen Latifah. Just when she was making ratings progress, the rug was pulled out from under her.
With national syndication ratings in for the week ending Nov. 16, an insult has been added to last week’s cancellation of “The Queen Latifah Show.” Even as the ax was looming over the daytime talker, it hit a season ratings high, posting a 1.2 household rating for the week for the show that entered its second season in September.
Moreover, among its talk-show competition, “The Queen Latifah Show” showed relatively strong week-to-week improvement, with a 9 percent boost, compared to a 3 percent uptick for “Dr. Phil,” a 4 percent rise for “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and five percent for “Maury.”
Yet, mere days after the daytime talker hit this high-water mark, the show was canceled. (However, the syndicated offering will continue to air original episodes through the end of March.)
As TheWrap reported last week, a number of factors beyond ratings could have contributed to “Queen Latifah Show” producers Sony Pictures Television’s decision to yank the show. Insiders offered a number of alternate explanations to TheWrap, including the possibility that CBS affiliates, which carry the Latifah show, were more eager for a talk show hosted by actor Jerry O’Connell, though that too was recently dropped by CBS Television Distribution.
Another insider suggested to TheWrap that Tyra Banks‘ upcoming talk show, which is slated to premiere in Fall 2015, has the competition “running scared,” and that “The Queen Latifah Show,” with its middling ratings, might not be the most robust rival to Banks’ new offering.
“Whatever goes against Tyra has to be really strong,” the insider said.
Sony Pictures Television declined to elaborate on the show’s cancellation, telling TheWrap in a statement, “We want to thank Dana [Owens, Latifah’s real name], the producers and the entire staff of ‘The Queen Latifah Show’ for creating a program that we are all very proud of. Thank you also to our terrific station partners and advertisers who supported the show.”
Latifah reflected on the cancellation on her Facebook page. In a note to herself, she wrote, “Your Family, Partners, Staff and Crew showed up with you every step of the way. Be very proud of that! Not everyone can say the same … You can also say you have been a blessing to and been blessed by amazing guests and incredible audiences for this show.”
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