TBS is getting rid of its newest late night program. The cable network has canceled The Pete Holmes Show, THR reports. The show, which began airing after Conan in October, initially received a seven-week order from the network and was subsequently renewed for 13 more weeks. The Pete Holmes Show will continue to air new episodes until its season finale June 18th.
The decision was made due to The Pete Holmes Show drawing low ratings. “We recognize Pete as one of the most relevant comedians working today,†TBS said in a statement to THR. “We loved the show and gave it two chances, we just couldn’t draw the audience needed to justify a third round. We hope we’ll get to work with him again.† TBS recently renewed the contract of its other late night host, Conan O’Brien, through 2018. Pete Holmes Show is the second post-Conan late night show TBS has canceled. The first was Lopez Tonight, which the network axed in 2011 fairly soon after bumping the show back from 11 to midnight to make way for Conan. There’s no word on whether the network plans on developing another late night show for the midnight timeslot.
UPDATE: Pete Holmes shared his thoughts on the cancellation on his Facebook fan page. Here’s what he had to say:
Dear friends,Sadly, The Pete Holmes Show has not been renewed for more episodes. I know! Frowny face emoticon!I just want to let everyone know that while the news isn’t what I was hoping for, my main takeaway from this entire wonderful experience is extreme gratitude.We got to make eighty (eight-zero! Sometimes filming as many as 19 in ten days!) episodes and I am extremely proud of each and every one of them. I talked to and worked with my heroes. I met incredible athletes and filmmakers. I shook hands regularly with a puppet. I got to work everyday in a magical chocolate factory of joy side by side with some of my best friends laughing and being silly all day. And then I got to share it with our fans. It was an absolute dream come true.I want to thank Oren Brimer and Nick Bernstein for their incredible work and for pouring their hearts into this project every single show, our incredible writers, my other half Matt McCarthy, editors, producers, CONACO, crew, guests, and INCREDIBLE audiences. And I’d especially like to thank Steven Koonin, Michael Wright and everyone at TBS for making my dream come true – thank you!Above all, I’d like to thank my hero Conan O’Brien for giving me this show and in a very Golden Girls-y way, I’d like to say thank you for being a friend. Conan was hand-on, available and supportive every step of the way. And still is for whatever we do moving forward. What an absolute dream come true! Thank you Consies O’Breezies.Doing this show has changed my life for the better in uncountable ways. We’ve learned so much. We laughed a ton. And we had an absolute blast doing it.Just in case you think I’m being too positive, I want you to know that I’m not a crazy person. I’ve felt every discernible emotion since hearing this news. I let that in and rolled with it. It lasted a few hours and still pops its head in every once in a while out of nowhere. But I find that when you let gratitude in, it swells up and pushes all the other feelings out. And rightfully so. It was a great experience from start to finish, and I have nothing but love and thanks for all involved.Thank you!Now please keep watching! We are on until June 18 and have a TON of great stuff coming up: More Realistic Marios, live magic, two new episodes of our 18 Kids and Counting parody Kid Farm, an interview and 4am Thoughts with Ray Romano, a brand new New Material Seinfeld, new Ex-Men and closing it all out, a sad (appropriately!) song from Frightened Rabbit’s Scott Hutchison!One last note about the future! I feel like we’ve been given a calling card, a body of work that survives past this show being on the air. I feel a little silly, like Braveheart or something, screaming, “THIS IS NOT THE END!†But it’s not. We are going out to see where our style fits and makes the most sense and in what way. I feel like we lost our bowl, but we’re still some pretty fucking delicious soup. Just floating around. You know, like soup. Flying, delicious soup. I’ll keep you posted on available bowls.Lastly, THANK YOU FOR WATCHING! The response from the fans was incredible. Thank you a billion. And in case this news makes you sad, here is one of my favorite videos we got to do on the show to cheer us all up. (It worked for me).With love and thanks,Petey Pants