On Monday afternoon, the news from Hollywood was bleak. Warner Brothers' syndication arm announced that Anderson Cooper's talk show, Anderson Live!, would not be coming back for a third season "in a marketplace that has become increasingly difficult to break through".
If daytime TV's success or failure is all about timing, Anderson Cooper's couldn't have been worse. When substituting for Regis Philbin on ABC's morning show Live! gave him a taste for the daily talk show format, the CNN host openly hankered to fill the Philbin seat. Cooper and co-host Kelly Ripa had great chemistry, they seemed genuinely to like each other, and they even went on holiday to Croatia.
The pair gave the show a watchable energy. But two years ago, the aging Philbin seemed like he was never going to leave, so Cooper accepted an offer from producers Telepictures and Warner Brothers syndication to try it alone.
Yet from the start in September 2011, his solo syndicated show (called Anderson for the first season before becoming Anderson Live this year) struggled to find its identity. Cooper interviewed an eclectic range of guests, from his mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, in season one, to Honey Boo Boo and her mother in season two. But without Kelly Ripa he seemed uncomfortable – even with the addition of a number of guest hosts in his second season.
Meanwhile over at ABC, Philbin retired and Kelly Ripa needed her own new co-host. She made no secret that Cooper was her first choice. But it wasn't to be – he was now committed to being Anderson.
When the pair appeared together on Andy Cohen's Watch What Happens Live on Bravo, Cohen asked them, "Do you two feel like 'These are the ones that got away?'"
"I still feel," said Ripa directly to Cooper as she answered the question, "like you and I are destined to be together, someday, somehow."
With his show cancelled, Cooper will be available at the end of this season. Which makes it even more poignant that a few weeks ago Ripa filled her empty chair with former NFL player Michael Strahan. The pair's ratings are strong and the show is a hit, so the "someday" she talked about with Cooper won't be today or tomorrow.
Now that Cooper is gone from daytime, the spotlight turns onto Katie Couric, whose debut talk show has also been disappointing. Will she make it? The show is already in flux. In the ongoing television game of musical chairs, Katie's executive producer, former NBC head, Jeff Zucker is due to leave her show soon, and has been named as a possible head of the troubled CNN – where Anderson Cooper still works. For now Cooper's future at CNN seems secure. He will reporting throughout primetime on hurricane Sandy with co-host Erin Burnett. Addressing the demise of his talk show earlier today, he issued a brief statement.
I am very proud of the work that our terrific staff has put into launching and sustaining our show for two seasons. I am also grateful to Telepictures for giving me the opportunity, and indebted to viewers, who have responded so positively. I look forward to doing more great shows this season, and though I'm sorry we won't be continuing, I have truly enjoyed it.
