Tough Crowd "has likely reached the end of its run"

by Brian McKim & Traci Skene on September 28th, 2004

We finally got around to sending our press kit into Tough Crowd, along with some writing samples (to demonstrate that we knew the difference between a libertarian and a libertine), but when we followed up with a phone call, we got a message that stated that the show was “on hiatus.” Hmmm… “hiatus” is a word that’s overused and frequently misused, so we weren’t immediately disheartened. Then we started hearing rumors here and there. We called again this morning (this time in the capacity of editors of SHECKYmagazine.com) and somebody on the other end mentioned an item that appeared on CNN.com today. The item wasn’t definite in it’s tone. In fact, the subhead said that the show had “likely reached the end of its run.” Low ratings were cited as a possible cause, should the decision be final.

Sources indicate that network executives have been displeased with the ratings performance of Quinn, a spirited roundtable discussion of current issues with host Colin Quinn and guest comedians.

Quinn has been holding onto only about half of the audience tuning in to its 11 p.m. lead-in, “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart.” Daily, which is red-hot as of late, coming off a pair of Emmy wins and record ratings during the political conventions, has averaged 1.1 million total viewers this year through September 9, while Quinn has averaged 537,000 by the same measure.

Ouch. Things are looking bad for Quinn, as the Hollywood types insist on calling it. We were switched over to someone who was permitted to make statements to the press, but all we got was voicemail. Hmmm… Stay tuned.