Originally posted Monday, May 13, 2019 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
This is not a week Steve Harvey will probably want to remember. Not only did his talk show get officially cancelled but he also lost his hosting gig on NBC's "Little Big Shots" to comedic actress Melissa McCarthy.
Harvey has a home in Atlanta but has rarely been here given his obligations in Los Angeles. But now he’ll have more free time if he wants to come back here since the talk show was such a huge time obligation in L.A.
According to Variety, Harvey taped his final original episode of "Steve!" this past Thursday and originals will air through June.
NBC owned stations will replace Harvey with Kelly Clarkson's new talk show this fall. In Atlanta, Clarkson's show will air on WSB-TV though a time slot has not been finalized. Harvey's show has been a solid performer at the 3 p.m. weekday slot on Fox 5, which has not said what will take its place.
Harvey joined the syndicated talk show circuit in 2012 with “The Steve Harvey Show” shot out of Chicago. But he decided to shift the show in 2017 to Los Angeles working with IMG, which offered Harvey more creative and financial control. The show averaged about 1.8 million viewers per episode this past season, fifth among syndicated talk shows behind “Dr. Phil,” “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” “Live with Kelly and Ryan” and “Maury.”
NBCUniversal, which lost ownership control of the show in 2017, developed the Clarkson show as a replacement. IMG tried to get the show back on time slots in major markets it had lost but couldn’t make it work.
The Variety story said Harvey may pursue digital options such as Facebook to air his comedic and topical bits.
People on Sunday also reported that Harvey had lost his "Little Big Shots" hosting gig on NBC to McCarthy, who spends much of the year now in Atlanta to shoot films and also owns a home locally. That show features talented children performances and banter with the host.
Not that Harvey will be on the unemployment line any time soon. He has been hosting “Family Feud” for nearly a decade and shot it in Atlanta for many years until 2017. He also hosts the Miss USA pageant and Fox’s New Year’s special, along with “Showtime at the Apollo” and the celebrity version of “Family Feud.” And he hosts a syndicated radio show every morning, heard locally on Majic 107.5/97.5 and that station has been seeing record high ratings lately.
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