There were quite a number of “Variety Shows” during the prime-time hours in the 1970s. My favorite was the Carol Burnett Show. Was the genre dead by the 1980s? When was the last popular variety show?
As always, any info would be appreciated.
The last variety show to make the Top 20 of the ratings was Flip Wilson in the 1972-73 season. The last variety show to last more than one season was Barbara Mandrell’s show in 1980-82; it was cancelled because the star was exhausted, not bad ratings.
Hey, I can’t believe that I forgot about the Barbara Mandrell show! Thanks for the info.
It seems that America’s Got Talent is fairly popular. I believe it is a current show the showcases a variety of different types of acts.
So not “The Hollywood Palace”?
Would Saturday Night Live count? It’s got skits, music, celebrity guests…
Aren’t The Tonight Show and SNL (and their ilk) essentially variety shows?
Does “All That” on Nickelodeon count?
“The Dana Carvey Show” tried to revive the format in 1996. Only lasted 8 episodes. I enjoyed it. I thought Andy Richter was on it but I don’t see his name in the credits at IMDB.
Seth MacFarlane took a stab at the format a few years ago. Kind of a halfhearted stab. I don’t know if it was a lack of budget or time, but I think he could do great things with a variety show.
Looking back on things, at the time I was just too young to fully appreciate Mitzi Gaynor, and her skimpy outfits.
Least popular? Pink Lady (and Jeff), which was cancelled after five weeks in 1980. It didn’t help that the stars of the show did not speak English.
Here is their signature gag. It should explain why nobody watched.
Another later effort was “The Paula Poundstone Show” in 1993. It was a variety show with a decidedly different sensibility. If it’s remembered at all, it’s for such concepts as interviewing economists while they were spinning around in an amusement park ride. It was canceled after the second episode.
I think the variety show format has been permanently done in by having more than 2-4 channels. When the number of channels was limited, there was a need of a venue for short acts - you couldn’t fill an hour, or even a half-hour, with a ventriloquist, tap-dancers, banjo acts or magicians alone. By the mid-80s, cable and satellite offered enough alternatives that there was no pressing need for a “grab bag” show. Now, of course, if you have an eight-second act, YouTube is waiting.
The Wayne Brady Show was (I believe) the most recent attempt to revive the form, but it only lasted one season in prime time and one further season as a daytime show.
I have no idea why reality tv shows are more popular than variety shows, but most of what’s on telly seems to exist solely for the purpose of making me feel like an outlier…
Perhaps, but the OP specified “prime-time.”
Prime time network variety shows have been dead since the early 80s, and were moribund for a decade before that. Carol Burnett’s show finally went off the air in 1982, and I cna’t think of any prime time network variety series since then thta’s lasted a full season.
However, a few variety shows carried on for a long tiem in syndication, after they’d been axed by networks.
***The Lawrence Welk Show ***was cancelled in 1971 because ABC thought Welk’s fans were too old and too rural to be attractive to advertisers, but Welk started his own syndicated show and continued for another decade.
And Hee Haw, which was cancelled the same year and for the same reasons, carried on for 20 years after it was cancelled by CBS.
When Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson were married, they had a variety show that lasted just a few episodes. I saw it on the TV listings, and tuned in just to see if it was for real.
It was, and in the intro, Jessica was wearing a low-cut halter dress and the cameras were strategically placed to accent her cleavage and also give us a nice view should she have a “wardrobe malfunction”.
It was as dreadful as it sounds.
p.s. I think MTV contributed heavily to the demise of this format. Yes, Virginia, that channel used to feature actual musical acts.
I meant prime-time shows.
Very good point!
Chapelle’s Show was popular. It only ran for two and a half seasons (2003-2006) but it ended because Chapelle decided to quit.
The Tracey Ullman Show lasted on prime time network (admittedly, it was not one of the big 3, but it was network, not syndicated) from 1987-1990. How strange that it left such a lasting impression on pop culture, and absolutely none on this thread until my post right now.