George Lopez's Show, 'Lopez Tonight', Cancelled by TBS


By Adrian Carrasquillo
Published August 10, 2011

The TBS network is cancelling, 'Lopez Tonight', George Lopez's nightly talk show, and the only late-night offering hosted by a Latino.

The network says Lopez's Thursday night show will be the final one. 'Lopez Tonight' is in its second season.

The comic gave up his 11 p.m. time slot to make room for Conan O'Brien, who joined TBS after leaving NBC's 'Tonight' show. The plan was for TBS was to have a one-two punch of late-night shows that would particularly appeal to young viewers.

If Lopez's previous reaction to one of his shows being cancelled is any indication, he probably won't be overjoyed with the news that his talk show was cancelled.

When ABC cancelled his sitcom, 'The George Lopez Show' in 2007, he had some choice words for the network and its decision. He believed that his show was cancelled because it was owned by Warner Bros. and not by ABC and scoffed at one of the network's new shows called "Cavemen."

"I get kicked out for a...caveman and shows that I out-performed because I’m not owned by [ABC]" Lopez said, according to the L.A. Times blog. "So a...Chicano can't be on TV but a...caveman can?"

"And a Chicano with an audience already? You know when you get in this that shows do not last forever, but this was an important show and to go unceremoniously like this hurts. One hundred seventy people lost their jobs," he said.

"TV just became really, really white again," Lopez added about his first cancellation.

This time around, fans and celebrities took to Twitter to chime in on the fate of 'Lopez Tonight.'

"See you later, Lopez Tonight. It was terrible while it lasted," comedian Michael Ian Black tweeted.

TV Guide's Michael Schneider tweeted that, "In late night, TBS' George Lopez averaged 400,000 viewers; in prime, NickAtNite's George Lopez Show sitcom repeats average around 2 million."

"So sad that they cancelled Lopez Tonight," wrote fan Johnathan Cooper. "I love GeorgeLopez...I'm sure he has new exciting projects in store."

TBS said in a statement that it was a "difficult decision."

“We are proud to have partnered with George Lopez, who is an immensely talented comedian and entertainer," TBS' statement read. "TBS valued its partnership with George and appreciates all of his work on behalf of the network, both on and off the air.â€