Go Ricki…Go Ricki… She’s gone

Ricki-LakeA week after the NATPE conference had taken place, Twentieth Television notified stations carrying The Ricki Lake Show it will not return for a second season.

The series halts production on March 28, with reruns and originals continuing until September 6.

Lake’s second stint as a talk show host was different this time around as she focused more on issues relating to women, as opposed to the relationship-driven raunchy show she hosted in the ’90’s.

The lone show yours truly watched was a September 2012 episode on social media, which exactly doesn’t make a great TV talk show subject (there’s nothing more exciting than an studio audience holding up their cell phones and tablets.)

So far this season, Ricki has averaged a 0.7 household live-plus-same day rating, behind freshman series Katie and Steve Harvey and tied The Jeff Probst Show. Ricki fared even worse in its target 25-54 female demo, averaging around an 0.3.

In Chicago, Ricki suffered from too much talk show competition in its 3 p.m. time slot, behind Katie, Ellen Degeneres, and a Maury rerun. Ricki also placed behind WCIU’s Judge Mathis. Last week in Detroit, Ellen moved into the 3 p.m. occupied by Ricki, which moved to 10 a.m. (oddly enough, WDIV left Probst at 2 p.m.) Overall, Ricki was not able to hold on to its steep lead-in (down 30%) and wasn’t able to match the ratings of the show it replaced in the year-ago time slot (down 42%.)

Ricki’s fate was sealed when Twentieth announced at NATPE its intention to roll out a new daytime talker hosted by Kris Jenner, who is best known as mother of the Kardashian clan. Before you salivate about the prospect of Jenner conducting paternity tests, refereeing baby mama drama battles, or cheering on hookers throwing chairs at one another, Jenner’s show is being pitched as a vehicle featuring celebrity talk, fashion tips, and other light-hearted fare. Given how dysfunctional she and the rest of the Kardashians are, this proposed project is already a disappointment.

As for Ms. Lake, she plans to continue her work on documentaries.

This story was first reported Monday on Broadcasting & Cable’s website.

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