‘Arsenio Hall Show’ Renewed for Second Season

CBS Television Distribution has renewed The Arsenio Hall Show for a second season. 

Former Tonight Show host Jay Leno made his first public appearance since exiting NBC’s late-night staple to congratulate Hall and break the news of the show’s renewal on Wednesday.

“We are thrilled that Arsenio will be returning for a second season,” CBSTVD president of sales Joe DiSalvo said. “We knew Arsenio had a built-in fan base, but he’s also reaching a new generation. This season, Arsenio has been the youngest late-night talk show on broadcast television and has given our station partners a real alternative for their late-night lineups.”

For the first week of February, Hall’s show attracted viewers averaging 50.1 years of age, which CTD says is the youngest among late-night talk shows on broadcast TV this season.

His household ratings for the same week were a 0.7, which means about 1.02 million homes tuned in each night. He had a 0.4 rating among viewers 18-49 and among those 25-54, on par with fellow freshman syndicated talker Queen Latifah, which airs in daytime.  

Hall’s second time as host of a syndicated talk show launched Sept. 9, anchored on 17 stations owned by Tribune Broadcasting — a partner in production of the show — including markets in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.

His show airs in most markets beginning at 11 p.m., going head-to-head with local news and some off-network syndicated fare. Hall’s second half-hour puts faces stiff competition from talk shows on NBC, ABC and CBS.

The late-night scene has been shaken up this month, when Leno was replaced by Jimmy Fallon as the host of NBC’s Tonight Show, with Seth Meyers replacing Fallon on Late Night. Both of those shows have gotten off to strong starts.

Hall offers an alternative with his own brand of comedy, music and guests. His previous late-night show aired on Fox from 1989-1994. Besides being host, Hall also is an executive producer on the show along with his manager John Ferriter.

“Arsenio is an incredibly talented host who has connected with his viewers; we look forward to watching the show grow and develop in year two,” said Sean Compton, president of strategic programming and acquisitions for the Tribune Co.

Hall’s guests this season have included LL Cool J, Eddie Murphy, Simon Cowell, Zooey Deschanel, Quincy Jones, Nick Cannon, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, George Lopez, Whoopi Goldberg, Leah Remini and Kevin Hart.

Musical guests have included Snoop Dogg, Nas, R Kelly, The Band Perry and B.o.B.

In addition to Tribune and CBS, his shows is carried on stations in the Sinclair Broadcast Group, Cox Television Stations, LIN Television and Post-Newsweek Stations station groups

Check out a video of Leno’s appearance, below.