A brief chapter in Chevy Chase’s illustrious comedy career is his ill-fated late-night talk series “The Chevy Chase Show,” which aired on Fox for six weeks in 1993 and was canceled after scathing reviews and low ratings.
In the new CNN documentary “I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not,” Chase opens up about his experience hosting a talk show — and the disappointment that followed. “I never took anyone’s advice on how to do a talk show. I can do itI kept thinking,” he said in the document. “It was hideous. I just didn’t really have an idea of what you do on a talk show.
Chase representatives and collaborators explained in the documentary that the series, which debuted on September 7, 1993, failed because it had “old-fashioned” television producers and needed a new vision. Additionally, although Chase was a gifted comedic actor and movie star, he was less gifted at stand-up comedy.
Chase’s oldest daughter, Cydney, remembers visiting her father on the set of the talk show. “He felt nervous around me,” she said.
Andy Aaron, a writer for “The Chevy Chase Show,” recounted, “The reviews were universally terrible, and Chevy would literally walk into the writers’ room and say, ‘You’re doing a great job.’ It’s not your fault, it’s my fault. »
“I don’t know how people like Letterman and others do it,” Chase said. “It’s beyond me. You can say, ‘Well, it’s interesting to have different people…’ Yeah, that’s true. We’re all the same, pretty much. It’s not that interesting.”
Staff discovered that the show had been pulled by Fox at the end of Chevrolet’s 50th anniversary party. CAA head Michael Ovitz, Chase’s agent at the time, asked him if he wanted to leave for a few more weeks. “‘A few weeks?” ” Chase remembers with mock surprise. “I think we’re done.”
Chase’s daughters spoke out about Chase’s mental health struggles following the show’s cancellation. “It was a pretty strange environment after her talk show,” Cydney Chase said. “I know my dad was depressed. I knew that at a very young age. It was a little difficult for me because I would come in and, like, I would pull on his shirt and he would say, ‘Not now, honey.'”
Chase’s daughter Caley added, “One thing that was interesting about our household was that my parents were pretty open about some of the deeper things that were going on, depending on our ages. My parents were communicative enough to say, ‘There’s something called depression, and it’s hard for people to get out of bed.'”
“He would get in bed and not come out,” Chase’s wife Jayni added. “I didn’t understand why.”
Chase would go on to star in a handful of films after the talk show ended, and eventually he would experience a career resurgence playing Pierce Hawthorne on the sitcom “Community,” which aired from 2009 to 2014 on NBC.
In 1993, “The Chevy Chase Show” arrived amid a frenzy around late-night television. Johnny Carson’s retirement from “The Tonight Show” a year earlier opened up opportunities, and Arsenio Hall was already home to a successful syndicated late-night yakker, “Arsenio,” which immediately appealed to younger, multicultural viewers in big cities. Distributed by Paramount, “Arsenio” was the first contender to take on Carson who stayed and made a dent in his audience.
Fox saw Arsenio’s success and decided to launch a late-night show. This was Fox’s second attempt to gain a late night foothold. In October 1986, Fox Broadcasting Co. was born when it tapped Joan Rivers to host “The Late Show” in hopes of taking on Carson with one of her longtime guest hosts. But Rivers’ show had a rough ride and was canceled in May 1987. It was briefly replaced by the quirky, newsmagazine-style proto-“Daily Show,” “The Wilton North Report.” This show lasted about three months. After that, Fox retreated to late night, focusing on prime time and finding traction with hits like “Married With Children” and “21 Jump Street.”
Five years later, Carson’s retirement sparked the Leno vs. Letterman battle that ended with Leno ascending to the throne of “The Tonight Show” and Letterman launching a new franchise on CBS. Letterman’s “The Late Show” launched on CBS with great fanfare on Aug. 30, 1993, after Letterman had to wait out the remainder of his contract as host of NBC’s post-“Tonight Show” hour, “Late Night With David Letterman.” (The open spot on “Late Night” ultimately went to Conan O’Brien, which was renewed in six-week increments during its first few months.)
So in this mix, Chase came to fight against Leno and Letterman, both of whom were out to prove they were the best in the time slot. This whole fight was quickly dubbed “the late night wars” in the media and pop culture.
Although it was short-lived, the arrival of Chase’s show as a Fox network offering spelled the end of Hall’s show in syndication. That’s because a number of stations that carried Hall’s show in major markets were affiliated with Fox. When the Fox network decided to go with “Chevy Chase,” those affiliated stations were under pressure to drop Hall’s show to make way for the network’s offering. Most of them did. Despite Chase’s quick hook, the damage was done. “Arsenio” aired its final episode on May 27, 1994.
“I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not” premiered on CNN on January 1.
Here is the first episode of “The Chevy Chase Show,” via YouTube
