THEY'RE ALL COMING BACK
'Grey's' Isn't Going Anywhere
Will Sykes' Saturday show sink Spike?
by Danny Gallagher, posted Apr 2nd 2009 9:03AM
The earlier announcement that comedienne Wanda Sykes might be one hair pulling development meeting away from getting her own late night show was a promising one. She's got a good bit of star power to boost her ratings. She's had a good bit of experience as a late night comedy writer, most notably with The Chris Rock Show and least notably with The Keenan Ivory Wayans Show. She's also damn funny.
If Fox turns her into their newest late night comedy show host, it raises a worrying question: what will become of Spike Feresten?
Spike's Talkshow hasn't become a ratings behemoth. It's not entirely the show's fault. It didn't have a strong lead-in thanks to Mad TV, which sunk to the bottom of the ratings faster than a submarine that's weighted down by two other submarines. Plus, their time slot has been a lousy one from the start. The only way to get anyone's attention on television on a Saturday night past midnight is to feature a random grouping of commercials for the video series, Girls Gone Wild Who Have Spontaneously Caught On Fire.
Despite that fact, Spike and his crew have done wonders with their show. They have survived three whole seasons thanks to a steady audience and a roster of cult level comedy bits such as "Lil' Bill O'Reilly," "Idiot Paparazzi," and (my personal favorite) "Hollywood Douchebags." That last one alone seemed to ensure their show would be around for at least the next decade.
Does Sykes' new deal mean that Spike is about to be pushed out the door? Why does Fox keep sticking their late night talk shows on Saturdays instead of trying to compete with the big boys? Can I squeeze one more open-ended question into the end of this post?
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