Ratings Down, Time’s Up for ‘Magic Hour’

“The Magic Hour,” the highly anticipated but heavily criticized late-night talk show hosted by basketball legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson, was abruptly canceled Thursday, just short of two months since its debut.

The series, which airs locally at 11 p.m. on KTTV-TV Channel 11, had its last original broadcast Thursday. A previously scheduled repeat of the show’s highest-rated episode, featuring “shock jock” Howard Stern, one of the show’s most vicious critics, is planned to air today, and other reruns will air during the next four weeks.

Rick Jacobson, president of Twentieth Television, which produces and distributes the show, said he made the decision after speaking to managers at numerous stations across the country who were concerned about its low ratings.

“A number of stations had told us that, based on the ratings, the show was going to be downgraded in its time period,” Jacobson said. “The fall season is starting, and these stations have to make their programming and schedule lineups. We had to decide whether it was prudent to go forward, and we owed it to the stations to tell them what we were doing.”

Jacobson added that he was immensely disappointed because the show was equaling its highest level of viewership since its June 8 debut. He added that he felt “The Magic Hour” had improved creatively, particularly with the July 20 addition of comedian Tommy Davidson as Johnson’s sidekick.

“But it still would not have been enough to stop the downgrades,” he said.

Although Jacobson declined to specify the investment in the show, he said the cancellation would mean a loss “in the millions of dollars. But this was not a financial decision. If there had been an upside, if the stations would have left us in our time periods and given us a chance to grow, then we would have continued.”

The cancellation marks the third failure in the last year of a syndicated late-night show that was developed as a hip, urban alternative to “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” and “Late Show With David Letterman.” “The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show” and “Vibe,” both of which premiered against each other last August, were given the ax earlier this year after failing to draw significant numbers of viewers.

The producers of “The Magic Hour” had hoped to overcome the shortcomings of those two predecessors by going after a much larger, mainstream audience. They counted on the star power of Johnson, one of the most popular and well-known athletes in the world, to attract viewers of all ages.

From its premiere on June 8, “The Magic Hour” was rocked by problems, ranging from Johnson’s obvious nervousness and unease in front of the camera to his lack of chemistry with his original sidekick, comedian Craig Shoemaker. Retooling of the show commenced, Shoemaker’s appearances were cut back, and Johnson promised about two weeks later that he would be more relaxed and spontaneous. Shoemaker was subsequently fired when he publicly criticized producers for reducing his air time.

Davidson’s arrival and Johnson’s determined efforts failed to turn the show around, which made it hard for its talent bookers to bring in top-name guests.

At the taping of final show Thursday afternoon, Johnson said nothing about the cancellation until the final moments. “This is our last show and it’s been a great run,” Johnson said, thanking Fox executives, cast and crew for “making my dream a reality.”

Picking up a basketball, Johnson said, “They say it’s not over until the fat lady sings and now that will happen,” as a rotund woman came out on stage and began singing.

“ ‘The Magic Hour’ is over,” Johnson said, and took his final shot at an offstage hoop.