Now in its fifth season, the celeb-reality show follows actress Bai Ling, "Long Island Lolita" Amy Fisher and rocker Steven Adler (former patients include the late musician Mike Starr and the late actor Jeff Conaway).
VH1 has put Celebrity Rehab on hold.
The reality show, which featured Dr. Drew Pinksky and his staff at the Pasadena Recovery Center assisting troubled celebrities battle addiction, is not currently part of the cable network’s programming plans for 2012, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
Celebrity Rehab spinoff Celebrity Rehab Presents Sober House also isn’t part of VH1’s plans for the year, either, as first reported by EW.
While neither series have been canceled, both have a checkered past.
Former Grease and Taxi co-star Jeff Conaway — who was featured in Seasons 1 and 2 of Celebrity Rehab as he battled alcohol, cocaine and an addiction to pain killers — died in May after complications from pneumonia. Reports noted that Conaway’s addiction hampered his ability to seek treatment for his pneumonia until it was too late.
STORY: Jeff Conaway, Star of ‘Taxi’ and ‘Grease,’ Dies at 60
In addition, former Alice in Chains bassist Mike Starr, who was among those featured in Season 3 of Celebrity Rehab, died in March. Toxicology reports indicated that the cause of death was small amounts of Xanax and alcohol, with Pinksy confirming his death was the result of a prescription drug overdose.
STORY: Alice in Chains Co-Founder Mike Starr Dies at 44
Meanwhile, a network spokesman confirmed that neither show has been canceled and that the benching of both series was both the result of Pinsky’s busy schedule and VH1’s crowded schedule.
STORY: DR. Drew: ‘I’m Not Addicted to Fame’
The music-themed network last month launched T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle with back-to-back episodes averaging 2.8 million total viewers and a 1.9 rating in the coveted adults 18-49 demographic.
Its roster of original scripted fare also includes Basketball Wives, which closed out its third season in August with 2.6 million viewers. The network this year also has plans for a series of music-themed biopics and will launch Stevie TV, its weekly pop culture show with comedian Stevie Ryan.
Celebrity Rehab‘s Season 5 finale drew 510,000 viewers in September, down nearly in half compared with Season 4’s final episode.
Email: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com; Twitter: @Snoodit
