Joan Rivers, TV’s first female late-night host, is dead, Chelsea Handler no longer has her show on E!, and Fox canceled Arsenio Hall’s second-shot, late-night gig. After all this, CBS hired another white male late-night host to replace the outgoing Craig Ferguson at “The Late Late Show.”
Kathy Griffin claimed the No. 1 TV network didn’t even try to find the funny with possible female hosts, according to her recent interview with the Associated Press. One executive allegedly told the comedian that CBS was “not considering females at this time,” during its search.
She reportedly responded, “You realize that’s illegal to say in a business meeting?”
CBS refutes the possibility of this exchange.
“CBS never said that to Kathy Griffin; never met with her, and in fact, we did meet with several female candidates,” the network said in a statement to TV Guide.
Griffin had hopes the late-night landscape would change even before Ferguson announced his exit. Instead, CBS hired British comedian James Corden.
"I was interested in the Ferguson spot long before it was announced because I had a feeling things might shift," Griffin told the AP. "My joke phrase is, 'I can start Monday.'"
When she tried to tell another industry executive about the “embarrassing” state of no women in late night, the exec allegedly responded, “Well, you have ‘The Talk.’”
“The Talk” is a daytime talk show with no real standout comedians on the all-female panel.
Griffin fears audiences may not see a female network late-night host during this generation, given the young ages of its current and upcoming hosts. The turnover isn’t great in that sector of entertainment either (See: Johnny Carson, Jay Leno and David Letterman).
"We could be looking at 40 or 50 years until a woman is hosting a network late-night talker," Griffin said. "Here's the deal: We're (screwed)."
Cable has moved two steps forward, one step back in the late-night department. In addition to Handler’s finished series, Mo’Nique also had a short-lived show that aired at 11 p.m. on BET between 2009 and 2011.
Comedy Central will replace “The Colbert Report” with “The Minority Report,” hosted by Larry Wilmore. The black comedian is a frequent contributor to “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and Stephen Colbert will replace Letterman on CBS’ “The Late Show.”
