As pretty much the entire television and film production industry settled into a sudden senescence over the last month, there’s been a lot of talk of shutdowns, hiatuses, and a general sort of holding of horses—but very little in the way of outright cancellations. With the vast majority of series—even those that have had to delay large portions of their seasons as the COVID-19 quaranatine has set in—there’s been a general sense of wait-and-see, as networks scramble to figure out how they’re going to keep on generating content to keep America’s increasingly stir-crazy residents entertained. But not all: Comedy Central has just announced that it’s pulling the plug on Lights Out With David Spade. Like, for good.
This is per THR, which reports that the network has decided that, regardless of whenever the quarantine lifts, Spade’s comedy chat show won’t be returning to its schedule. The channel is reportedly looking to shop the series around to other networks, but the 11:30 p.m. after-The-Daily-Show slot will once again be vacant, looking for the next Stephen Colbert who’ll be able to fill it for more than a season or two at a time.
Lights Out debuted on Comedy Central last July, powered by the same lingering appreciation for Spade’s acerbic comedy that once made Joe Dirt 2 one of Crackle’s most triumphant streaming hits. The series featured a mixture of stand-up, news segments, and panels, the latter drawing from the former SNL star’s deep bench of comedy friends. Spade himself remains popular enough around the network that he’ll continue to produce digital shorts during the ongoing hiatus, but the show itself will not be coming back.