Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution has cancelled its new talk show, Bethenny. The show will end its run after this season.
“We are incredibly proud of the creativity, passion and professionalism Bethenny and her staff brought to daytime each and every day and look forward to finishing out the season with more great original episodes,” according to a spokesperson from Telepictures Productions, which is Warner Bros.Television's first-run production arm. “While we are disappointed not to be able to bring the series back for a second season, we remain convinced that Bethenny has a unique voice and that she will continue to be successful in the future.”
While the show’s launch group, Fox Television Stations, wanted to keep the show, Warner Bros. was unable to find clearances for the program across the entire country. Among adults 25-54 on the Fox TV Stations, Bethenny improved time periods by 50% from a 0.4 to a 0.6. Nationwide, however, Bethenny was struggling. In the week ended Feb. 2, the show hit a season-high 1.0 live-plus same day household average. After a successful test run last summer on the Fox TV Stations, Warner Bros. had high hopes for the show, clearing it on ABC, CBS and NBC-affiliated stations in afternoon time periods—as well as on Fox-owned stations—in many markets.
While those sorts of clearances typically increase a show’s chances for success, they likely worked against Bethenny. The show—which had a young, edgy feel—tended to work better on less-traditional TV stations. Fox had hoped to create a daytime talk-block that included Debmar-Mercury’s Wendy Williams and Warner Bros.’ upcoming talker, The Real. Much like Bethenny, Warner Bros. took The Real out for sale after a successful test last summer, switching Warner Bros.’ focus to that series.
Moreover, Warner Bros. has been in a period of change, with Mike Darnell coming in last July as head of Warner Bros.’ unscripted and first-run productions, and Hilary Estey McLoughlin, formerly Telepictures’ president, moving over to CBS Television Distribution as president of creative affairs. Bethenny, a spin-off of Warner Bros.' Ellen, was largely considered one of McLoughlin’s projects, so her departure left the program without an in-house champion.
“I had a blast doing this show with Telepictures,” said Frankel in a statement. “My entire staff worked so hard and made every day so much fun. I am thankful for the experience and for all my fans who tuned in every day.”
