We'll Bet You Totally Forgot That These 8 Celebrities Used To Have Their Own Talk Shows
Earlier we reported that Jennifer Hudson was being considered to be Ellen's Daytime replacement. Now look, througout history, we all know the daytime staples like Oprah, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and The View, and names like David Letterman and Stephen Colbert are household when it comes to late night - but the truth is most celebrity talk shows come and go like the wind. Here one day, doing segments and putting their own spin on the time-tested format - then poof, a few low ratings and it's off the air.
Whether they were on network cable or hosted on another platform, the graveyard of cancelled talk shows is actually full of big celebrity names, some of them so big you won't be able to believe you forgot about their talk show - or that you never even heard of it in the first place.
We'll bet you completely forgot about these guys.
Magic Johnson: The Magic Hour
With one of the coolest names in talk show history, Magic Johnson's show The Magic Hour aired for exactly one season in 1998 before being cancelled due to poor ratings - though behind the scenes, things were also apparently not going well. Johnson blamed a lack of support from black actors, whose managers, according to him, "keep them off of the black shows."
There may have been other reasons, however, because the original comedic sidekick Craig Shoemaker notably said that the whole show was "an absolute nightmare."
Tyra Banks:
The Tyra Banks Show - often shortened to The Tyra Show or even just Tyra - was a particularaly long-running show in the context of this list, airing new episodes from 2005 to 2010. Four of the five seasons aired on syndicated television, but after 2009, the show was moved to The CW, along with Banks' other show, America's Next Top Model.
The Tyra Show was a tabloid format show similar to Maury, tackling hot topics, gossip, and talking to interesting people, with a special focus on issues facing women.
Chevy Chase: The Chevy Chase Show
Like everything else Chevy Chase touches these days, his talk show was a flaming disaster. It aired for only one season in 1993 - and calling it a season is generous, because it was only on for five weeks in total.
Chase was part of a whole slew of late-night variety show hopefuls who wanted to fill the void left by the retirement of Johnny Carson: The Chevy Chase Show premiered one week before Conan's first show, and one after David Letterman's. Chase, however, clearly wasn't cut out for talk shows, with reviewers and network execs agreeing that he looked nervous and uncomfortable when talking to guests, and that the crowd he attracted was far too rowdy and rude.
Keenen Ivory Wayens: The Keenen Ivory Wayens Show
Another show that ended because the host discovered they just did not like doing a talk show, the Keenen Ivory Wayens show only ran from 1997 to 1998. It was very similar to another talk show, Vibe, that aired at the same time. Between that competition and Wayens' displeasure with the environment and a lack of creative control, it's not terribly surprising that it was cancelled so quickly.
Carnie Wilson: Carnie!
Known originally for her membership in the musical group Wilson Phillips, Carnie Wilson's daytime talk show Carnie! was somewhat similar to the Rosie O'Donnelll Show, sprinkling pop culture topics with humor and frequently bouncing off the audience.
Carnie! was one of several talk shows that premiered in 1995, and though it got better ratings than the others, it was cancelled in 1996. Ironically, the show that replaced it was the Rosie O'Donnell Show.
Kris Jenner: Kris
Simply titled Kris, famous momager Kris Jenner got her own talk show in 2013, at the height of Keeping Up With The Kardashians' popularity. Unfortunately for her, the show did not go well. The show finished its six-week trial period that same summer, and it was not picked up as a regular series.
One Fox executive cited Jenner's demeanor as the reason the show did not continue, saying she seemed "not just like a deer in the headlights, but like a deer that already got hit."
Zach Galifianakis: Between Two Ferns
Unlike all the other talk shows on this list, this one is actually still around. Between Two Ferns, Zach Galifianakis' show where things go wrong on purpose, was perhaps galvanized by its bold choice to just be up front about being unable to act like a standard talk show host. Galifianakis' guests are treated to strange and even slightly inappropriate questions, coupled with the comedian's awkward demeanor. They often trade barbs and insults as part of the interview.
Between Two Ferns has been running on Comedy Central since 2008, and a film adaptation with uncut interviews landed on Netflix in 2019.
Wayne Brady: The Wayne Brady Show
This one actually has a weird history. After spending years as a panelist on the famous improv show Whose Line Is It Anyway, comedian Wayne Brady got his own primetime show in 2001. The show was cancelled in 2002, but brought back as a daytime show later that same year. Its ratings improved in the daytime slot, and it ran for another couple years until it was cancelled in 2004 - but only after winning five Emmy awards.
Russell Brand: Brand X
Much like Between Two Ferns, Brand X With Russell Brand took a familiar format - in this case, a late night talk show - and injected it with irreverent and controversial comedy. It ran for two seasons from 2012 to 2013. The show was not well recieved by critics, but found a niche audience in Russell Brand's fanbase, as the first half of season one was almost entirely a monologue where he riffed on the news.
The most memorable of the show was the segment "Totally Unacceptable Opinion," where Brand would bring in people from controversial groups like the Westboro Baptist Church, argue with them about their opinions, then bring out somebody they were known to hate (in that case, gay people) for a debate. Unsurprisingly, the segment was incredibly controversial.
