My inbox was flooded with several press releases last week with the headline; CNN cancels the D.L. Hughley Show. My reaction was the same as most bloggers, AND?! It was not the earth shattering news that it was hyped to be. The show was not a funny show nor was it engaging. D.L. never "broke" anything, let alone deliver a good show.
As if sensing a way out, Comedy Central canceled "Chocolate News" with David Alan Grier the same week. Knowing several individuals connected with both shows, I hate that they are without a job in this economic times. But as I have stated to my friends, the shows were boring and not news worthy. D.L. and David are great comedians and actors. They sell out clubs and arenas all the time. Both men have been on top rated sitcoms. However, they did not translate well into the satire news segment.
I do not know if it was the team of writers or the network or what, but D.L.'s show was in poor taste most of the time. The most entertaining moment for the D.L. Hugely Show came courtesy of Michael Steele. When Mr. Steele stated he was in charge of the RNC, the clip of Steele and D.L. was played over and over again. The coverage of the clip (not the show) got more viewers than the show received since it debut.
I thought the clip of D.L. and Steele was going to send the show a new audience who would tune in out of curiosity over the Steele saga. But as Steele was busy apologizing for his statements to D.L. about who's really in charge of the RNC, CNN was breaking the news that they were canceling D.L.'s show.
On the Tom Joyner Morning Show this week, D.L. explained that the hectic pace of the show and the fact that he lived on the West Coast and the show was based in New York led to a mutual agreement that CNN and D.L. ended this cultural experiment amicably. No mention of the horrible ratings, the lack of substance AND the outcry from many who wondered "WHY?" from the beginning.
I hope D.L. continue to share his point of view, he challenges us to think outside of the box and not to believe the hype. In the future, I hope "The Most Trusted Name in News" would not rent out their studios for comedy night theater.
D.L. on Tom Joyner
http://v3.player.abacast.com/player/player.php?pid=reachmedia_tjms&mediaurl=http://wm-ondemand.abacast.com/reachmediainc/031209/DL.wma&gateway=http://asx.abacast.com/dynamic/reachmediainc.asx
I agree with you - while its sad to see the show canceled because I believe with a little tweaking it could have had potetial, the fact is the show was horrible. I cringed at a lot of the jokes. And I really don't have any words for David Alan's show - the only black comedian that could probably do news satire and do it right is Dave Chappelle.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with you regarding D.L's show. I think it was a little awkward in the beginning but seems to be hitting a stride now. I made a point to watch it and I'll miss it. However, I'm not sad to see Chocolate news go. I cringed everytime a commericial came on for it. Good riddance.
ReplyDeleteoh my gosh, this post sums up my thoughts EXACTLY! when D.L. got his own show on CNN... i SERIOUSLY considered it a crime against black people, lol. i'm disappointed that CNN didn't know better!
ReplyDeletehopefully campbell brown is the next to go... rachel maddow is KILLIN her!