The Arsenio Hall Show

***The Arsenio Hall Show*** is an American late-night talk show created by and starring comedian Arsenio Hall and broadcast on ACME. The show premiered on September 4, 2017, and it is produced by Golden Productions, a subsidiary of the Dorado Media Group.

The show airs live to tape in most U.S. markets at 11:35 p.m. Eastern and Pacific, and 10:35 Central, kicking off the *ACME After Dark* programming block*.*

## **Background**

In May 2012, Hall was said to be shopping around an idea for a new late-night program and had garnered interest from Fox and TBS as to picking the show up. On June 18, 2012, Hall announced that he had brokered a deal with CBS Television Distribution and Tribune Broadcasting to bring his late-night talk show back to television. Although the show was agreed upon in time for the 2012–13 season, the agreement was to see *Arsenio* return at the beginning of the next season.

In a 2012 interview with *Essence Magazine*, Hall stated that he would like to interview Mariah Carey, as she only appeared as a featured performer on his show.

The revived *Arsenio* debuted on September 9, 2013. Stations that also carried Hall's original program, such as in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Toronto, picked up the revived series as well. Tribune-owned stations airing *Arsenio* were included in Los Angeles, Dallas-Fort Worth, New York City, Chicago, and Seattle. The show also aired on CBS-owned stations.

Unlike Hall's previous series, this version was taped at the Sunset Bronson Studios in Hollywood. As with the original series, Hall referred to his house band as "The Posse 2.0" which consisted of Robin DiMaggio as the music leader/director and drummer, Alex Al on bass, Rob Bacon on guitar, Sean Holt on saxophone and Victoria Theodore on keyboards.  Additionally, Hall's open-monologue still mostly consisted of jokes about current events. Hall ended each show by saying, "I'll see you in 23 hours."

In another notable difference from Hall's previous show, Diana Steele's intro to the show's host (in which she held the "O" in "Arsenio" for a long as five seconds right before Hall came out onto the stage, and then in the same breath, finally/immediately announced, "HALL!") was also a staple of the show.

In mid-October 2013, executive producer Neal Kendall stepped down due to creative differences. The senior VP of programming and development, Eric Pankowski, took over while Hall conducted a search for a new show-runner, in an effort to revamp the show and boost ratings. Reruns were aired during the brief transition period until new episodes resumed the week of October 28.

During an interview with Oprah Winfrey that same month, Hall and Winfrey discussed a "feud" between the two based on jokes he told nearly 20 years earlier about her weight and Oprah's partner, Stedman Graham. During their talk on *Oprah's Next Chapter*, Hall also mentioned his long-time friendship with Jay Leno, how David Letterman was an influence on him and the late-night talk show competition in general, including the 2010 *Tonight Show* conflict between Leno and Conan O'Brien.

### **Ratings and reception**

The debut episode beat out all late night shows in viewership that evening. However, after its premiere week in September 2013, the show's record-setting ratings dropped 40% (falling from an average 1.5 rating to 0.4 with 18–49 target audiences). While ratings spiraled downward, show executives were optimistic.

Critical reaction to the updated show was mixed since its premiere week. According to *Media Life Magazine*, Hall's flashy, edgy and laid-back approach to late-night talk shows in the early 1990s was having little effect on audiences after its reincarnation. *The New York Times* reported the show had much familiarity and that "Mr. Hall's return to the screen was mostly a little sad. He is better than this and deserved a more convincing comeback." While also reporting Hall's talk show is similar to his original series, *Variety* gave a better review/reception of the revived show, stating "while he might not be the hippest guy in late-night anymore, Arsenio 2.0 can still emerge as a survivor".

### **Cancellation**

The revived *Arsenio* program was initially renewed for a second season on February 26, 2014; the announcement was made to that night's audience on air by Jay Leno in his first post-*Tonight Show* appearance. However, the decision was later reversed, and the program was canceled by CBS Television Distribution and Tribune, on May 30, 2014.

The original series was produced and distributed by Paramount Domestic Television and taped at Stage 29 at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles. The second series was shot at Sunset Bronson Studios in Hollywood and was produced by Tribune Broadcasting, Octagon Entertainment, and Eye Productions; it was distributed by CBS Television Distribution.

### **Revival**

In September 2017, the Dorado Media Group closed a deal for the new series, to air on the 2017-18 season. Hall announced that he had brokered a deal with the company to bring his late-night talk show back to television. The agreement was to see *Arsenio* return at the beginning of the 2017-18 season. Dorado then decided to extend their relationship with Hall to develop a late-night talk show for the ACME Television Network, since the network had relied on its affiliates to provide their own evening programming.