GEORGE LOPEZ #TV talk #show Canceled; who's fault? CONAN or LENO

(editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

 

(Reuters) - Comedian George Lopez's late-night talk show has been canceled after only two seasons, cable channel TBS said on Wednesday.

The hour-long program, "Lopez Tonight" that first aired in 2009, will not be renewed for a third season, TBS said in a statement.

"TBS has reached the difficult decision not to order a third season of Lopez Tonight. Thursday will be the final episode of the show," a statement said.

Californian-born Lopez, 50, whose Mexican ethnicity has shaped his comedy routines that examine race relations, had sought to reach a diverse audience with the late-night show.

It followed his sitcom, "George Lopez," which ran for five years until 2007 and broke new ground for Hispanics producing and starring in sitcoms.

...but there's an even bigger story here -- that Conan O'Brien is failing at the network.

It looks like Conan did to George what Jay Leno did to Conan.  You'll recall, when Jay Leno came back to NBC, his 10 PM show tanked and killed Conan's ratings. 

Well Lopez had the 11 PM time slot for its first season, but then when Conan came to TBS a year ago he took over the 11 PM slot and Lopez moved to midnight -- meaning George was relying on Conan to deliver a good lead-in.

But when the change was made, George's audience plummeted 40%.

On Monday, Conan pulled in an anemic 0.5 rating in the key demographic (18 - 49) with 715,000 viewers -- and that's a pretty typical day.  George's ratings hovered around 0.2, with 400,000 viewers. 

Short story -- Nobody's watching. 

REUTERS
TMZ