Movies - TV
Dana Carvey Thinks Not Going To HBO Sealed The Fate Of His Show
By TRAVIS YATES
“The Dana Carvey Show” remains one of primetime television’s most curious failures to this day, as it featured one of the country’s hottest entertainers collaborating with comedic minds like Steve Carrell and Jon Glaser. The 1996 ABC series was canceled after only airing seven episodes, a fact that Carvey attributes to a mistake when selecting the show’s home.
He and producing partner Robert Smigel came up with the variety show concept and had their pick of homes for the new show. While CBS made a significant proposal and ABC offered a favorable time slot, Carvey lobbied for cable, specifically HBO, due to the idea’s more edgy nature; however, Carvey was outvoted, sharing, “Robert sincerely believed variety should be on primetime at that point.”
The actor’s concerns about the material were compounded when Disney purchased ABC just before the series launched, with the network’s new focus on family-friendly programming. Despite the warning signs, Carvey and Smigel defiantly kept the show’s original edgy spirit, leaving no one surprised when ABC declined to renew the series.