Ricki Lake Show Canceled After Low Ratings; Joins Anderson Cooper on Cut List
The Ricki Lake Show has been canceled after just one season into its comeback, joining Anderson Cooper, which was also cut after the second year into its run.
The show was one of the most popular on American TV from 1993-2004, but recently made a comeback. However, Lake and producers behind the show found things much more difficult going this time around, and suffered amid a more competitive climate in TV talk shows.
Lake's show aimed to provide a blend of self-help and family issues, and was created to attract a more mature audience this second time around.
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However, since making its comeback it seems that producers could not find the right mix and attract the numbers hoped for.
The show only attracted an average of 926,000 viewers during its comeback season, well below what was hoped for. The numbers of less than a million average viewers meant that Lake's show ranked towards the bottom of daytime talk shows.
Upon the news of the show's cancellation being announced, Lake, 44, said in a statement: "I am so proud of the shows we completed this season, sparking important conversations about everything from raising children to mental illness to suicide prevention to coming out. I will continue to be an active and passionate voice for subjects that are close to my heart through a variety of platforms."
In other TV talk shows, Survivor host, Jeff Probst, also disappointed, although his numbers were marginally better than Lake's. Probst attracted 941,000 viewers on average.
Another show that will be coming to an end is Anderson Cooper, which will end its two year run later this year in May.
At the other end of the spectrum, Katie Couric's Katie exceeded expectations, bringing in an average of 2.4 million viewers. Last week it was announced that the show would be renewed for a second season.
The Steve Harvey Show also did well enough to get another season, averaging 1.8 million viewers.
