Pat Sajak Show Canceled; Carson, Hall Hard to Beat

“The Pat Sajak Show,” squeezed by the late-night competition of veteran Johnny Carson and new talk host Arsenio Hall, was canceled Monday by CBS, only 15 months after its debut.

A CBS announcement said the series will end Friday. Sajak, who will continue with his syndicated “Wheel of Fortune” series with Vanna White, made his final appearance on the late-night network show last Thursday and will not return, a CBS spokesman said. Guest hosts will fill in.

The spokesman said Sajak “is in Europe on a long-planned vacation.”

Sajak, who rose to fame as “Wheel of Fortune” became a game show sensation, is the latest in a series of contenders who failed in an attempt to dethrone Carson, the host of NBC’s “Tonight” series for more than 27 years. Others in the long line of would-be Carson successors included Dick Cavett and Joey Bishop.

In ratings sweeps last February, one of four months during the year when competition helps determine advertising prices for stations, the “Tonight” show averaged a 5.6 rating and a 19% share of the audience. “The Pat Sajak Show” averaged a 2.6 rating and 10% share.

But while many never expected him to defeat Carson, Sajak ran into the surprise success of Hall, the biggest new late-night talk-show attraction in years. Hall, whose Paramount series debuted only one week before Sajak’s, not only triumphed over Sajak’s CBS show but also drew the young viewers that the network had hoped Sajak would attract.

Sajak, who debuted on CBS on Jan. 9, 1989, had said the strategy was to establish his show so that if and when Carson, 64, retires, he would be in place as the logical successor as king of late-night TV.

But although Sajak won the first week of their head-to-head competition, Carson came back, and, along with Hall and other late-night hosts such as NBC’s David Letterman and Jay Leno, substitute host of “Tonight,” made it tough sledding for the new CBS hopeful.

Sajak surprised many viewers by showing an adeptness at handling a comedy monologue when his show debuted. But soon he was criticized for being a Carson clone, complete with a sidekick, Dan Miller--a former news anchor whom he had worked with in Nashville--and a couch full of guests.

CBS had hoped Sajak’s original 90-minute length would help differentiate it from Carson and the other late-night shows. But as ratings slipped, it finally was cut back to an hour last Oct. 20. This past February, other changes were made--Miller was switched from sidekick to announcer, Sajak substituted a round table for the couch and eliminated his desk amid adjustments of the set.

Also in February, guest hosts began filling in for Sajak each Friday, leading to increased speculation that the show’s days were numbered. The guests included radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh, comedians John Mulrooney and Tom Parks, and film critics Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel.

CBS had invested an estimated $5 million in a new studio for the Sajak show, and he reportedly had signed a two-year, no-cut contract. New CBS Entertainment President Jeff Sagansky had promised to stick with Sajak as the new format and adjustments were made to the show in February, but they brought few positive results.

A new producer, Michael Weisman, formerly of NBC Sports, also was brought in, but to no avail.

CBS said Monday that new programming would replace “The Pat Sajak Show” starting Monday, and that it was “negotiating for off-network” shows to “fill the time period for the interim.” It is understood that reruns of the CBS series “Wiseguy” were among the shows being considered for the time slot, which runs from 11:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.

Tonight’s guest host is Jonathan Prince, co-star of the comedy series “Throb” and creative consultant for the CBS show “City.” The guest host Wednesday, Thursday and Friday will be comedian Paul Rodriguez.

“Original programming is in development and targeted for fall,” said CBS.