''Lopez Tonight'' is an American late-night television talk show that was hosted by the comedian

George Lopez George Edward Lopez (born April 23, 1961) is an American comedian and actor. He is known for starring in his self-produced ABC sitcom. His stand-up comedy examines race and ethnic relations, including Mexican American culture. Lopez has rece ...

. The hour-long program premiered on November 9, 2009, on cable network TBS. Lopez was the first Mexican-American to host a late-night talk show on an English-language network in the United States. The show featured audience interaction using a high-energy format. The program aired Monday through Thursday at midnight

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and

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, immediately following '' Conan''. On August 10, 2011, TBS announced that ''Lopez Tonight'' would be canceled. The final episode aired the following night.

History

Phillip Kent, the chief executive of TBS, announced in March 2009 that George Lopez had signed a contract to host his own late-night talk show on TBS in November of that year. During interviews, Lopez said that he would bring the change to late-night television and that he wants the show to reach a diverse audience. He also stated that he would become the first Hispanic American to host a late-night talk show. The show debuted on November 9, 2009, with guests Kobe Bryant and Eva Longoria, as well as a special appearance from

Ellen DeGeneres Ellen Lee DeGeneres ( ; born January 26, 1958) is an American comedian, television host, actress, writer, and producer. She starred in the sitcom ''Ellen'' from 1994 to 1998, which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award for " The Puppy Episode". Sh ...

and a musical performance from Carlos Santana.

Arrival of Conan O'Brien and cancellation

The 2010 ''Tonight Show'' conflict resulted in Conan O'Brien's departure from

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

and ''

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...

''. Jay Leno returned to ''The Tonight Show'', abandoning his prime time experiment, ''

The Jay Leno Show ''The Jay Leno Show'' is a talk show created and hosted by Jay Leno. Premiering on NBC on September 14, 2009, the program aired on weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ET/ PT through February 9, 2010. The program was modeled upon the format of a late ...

''. As a part of his severance deal, O'Brien was given a $32-million payout, a $12-million payout for his show's staff, and the ability to pursue options on other channels after September 1, 2010. Hours before O'Brien's Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour, O'Brien officially announced he had signed with TBS to create his own late-night talk show at 11:00 pm beginning in November 2010, thus pushing ''Lopez Tonight'' back to midnight. O'Brien was hesitant at first, saying he didn't want to do that to Lopez after what NBC had done to him, but Lopez himself called him and persuaded him to take the job. On the April 12 edition of ''Lopez Tonight'', George addressed the situation by saying, "I was on Team Coco, now I'm on Team

Loco Loco or El Loco may refer to: Places United States * Loco, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Loco, Oklahoma, a village * Loco, Texas, an unincorporated community * Loco Mountain (Labinero, Montana), a mountain peak of the Crazy Mountains ...

!". However, the move caused a steep decline in ratings. On August 10, 2011, TBS canceled ''Lopez Tonight'' effective at the end of the week. O'Brien said of the announcement on his show, taping just hours after it was confirmed:

Format

The show followed the established six-piece format established by the likes of

Steve Allen Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000) was an American television personality, radio personality, musician, composer, actor, comedian, and writer. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-cre ...

and Johnny Carson. The first segment included a monologue by Lopez, sometimes accompanied by several one-liners, or several brief comedy sketches. Most episodes also included a second segment, immediately after the monologue, with a full comedy sketch. An interview with either one or two guests followed, as well as a musical or comedy performance.

Recurring segments

Sketches introduced on the show include ''Bullet Wound or Not a Bullet Wound'', a stereotypical game show similar to Jay Leno's "Jaywalking" where guests must answer seemingly racist questions, ''Creepy Little White Girl'' in which a horrific little girl appears on the stage to deliver bad news, ''The Jersey Shore Presents'', a mocking piece where cast members of Jersey Shore star in hit movies, ''Sweet Tweets'' where Lopez answers questions submitted from

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, ''WWE Superstars Karoake'' where many

WWE Superstars ''WWE Superstars'', or simply ''Superstars'', is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by WWE that originally aired on WGN America in the United States and later broadcast on the WWE Network. It debuted on and ...

performed karaoke songs, ''Justin Bieber's Memories'' a segment that mocks Justin Bieber and his childhood, and "Eric Estrada" where colored lights flash and various guests, including

Benjamin Bratt Benjamin Bratt (born December 16, 1963) is an American actor and producer who has worked in film and on television. He had supporting roles in the 1990s in such box office hits as ''Demolition Man'' (1993), ''Clear and Present Danger'' (1994), ...

and

Jon Cryer Jonathan Niven Cryer (born April 16, 1965) is an American actor, writer, director and producer. Born into a show business family, he made his motion picture debut as a teenage photographer in the 1984 romantic comedy ''No Small Affair''; his bre ...

come out of the double doors in a California Highway Patrol motorcycle uniform.

Timeline

*November 9, 2009 — ''Lopez Tonight'' debuts with guests Eva Longoria and Kobe Bryant as well as a special appearance by

, and a musical performance from Carlos Santana, who performed " Oye Como Va". *November 12, 2009 — Comedian

Larry David Lawrence Gene David (born July 2, 1947) is an American comedian, writer, actor, and television producer. He and Jerry Seinfeld created the television sitcom ''Seinfeld'', on which David was head writer and executive producer for the first seve ...

appears on the show and takes a DNA test revealing his results to be 63 percent European and 37 percent Native American. *November 25, 2009 — George officially announces that

Arsenio Hall Arsenio Hall (born February 12, 1956) is an American comedian, actor and talk show host. He hosted the late-night talk show, ''The Arsenio Hall Show'', from 1989 until 1994, and again from 2013 to 2014. He has appeared in ''Martial Law'', '' Com ...

would become the permanent guest host of ''Lopez Tonight''. *December 15, 2009 — A special reunion episode, featuring the main cast of ''

''. Musical guests

War War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

performed "

Low Rider "Low Rider" is a song written by American funk band War and producer Jerry Goldstein, which appeared on their album '' Why Can't We Be Friends?'', released in 1975. It reached number one on the ''Billboard'' R&B singles chart, peaked at number ...

", the theme song to the former show as well as ''Lopez Tonight''. *January 18, 2010 — Jennifer Lopez performs the opening monologue for ''Lopez Tonight'', addressing the 2010 Tonight Show conflict, beginning with "Welcome to ''Lopez Tonight'', where nobody gets fired"! *April 1, 2010 — As part of an April Fool's Day joke, musician Usher corrected Lopez after incorrectly stating he had two kids, saying that he had three, and went on to say that how upset he was when people didn't get their facts straight, however Usher revealed it to be a joke and that he did indeed have two kids. *April 12, 2010 — George Lopez announces that beginning in November 2010, Conan O'Brien will officially join TBS for his own late-night talk show which will push ''Lopez Tonight'' back one hour from 11:00 pm to midnight. *June 24, 2010 – ''Lopez Tonight'' celebrates its 100th episode, with guests Kobe Bryant and Louis C.K. with special appearances from

, Clint Eastwood, Tom Cruise,

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

, Russell Brand, and Eddie Van Halen. At the end of the show, George alongside his band performed the '' Van Halen'' song "

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

". *August 18, 2010 – George Lopez bets Bow Wow $25,000 to charity that the Los Angeles Lakers would beat the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...

on Christmas Day. *October 19, 2010 – The cast of '' Jackass 3D'' appears on the show. *November 3, 2010 – Conan O'Brien officially appears on the show promoting his new talk show, '' Conan'', which moves ''Lopez Tonight'' to midnight. *November 4, 2010 – ''Lopez Tonight'' celebrates its last show in the 11:00PM time slot as it prepares to move to 12:00AM in order for the arrival of '' Conan''. Guests on the show were

Andy Richter Paul Andrew Richter (born October 28, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and talk show announcer. He is best known as the sidekick for Conan O'Brien on each of O'Brien's talk shows: ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Late Night'' and ' ...

, Bret Michaels, and a musical performance from Good Charlotte. *November 8, 2010 – ''Lopez Tonight'' airs its first show in the midnight time slot. The show features many changes including a new opening sequence as well as a new set. Guests on the show included Janet Jackson,

Antoine Dodson Kevin Antoine Dodson (born June 27, 1984) is an American Internet celebrity, singer, and actor. In 2010, while a resident of the Lincoln Park housing project in Huntsville, Alabama, he gave an interview on local television news prompted by the re ...

, and a musical performance from Rooney. *August 10, 2011 – ''Lopez Tonight'' is canceled by TBS with the series finale airing August 12, 2011. *August 15, 2011 – Repeats of '' The Office'' filled in the former ''Lopez Tonight'' timeslot after several weeks of his show repeats. *August 18, 2011 – The official TBS ''Lopez Tonight'' website was taken down and currently redirects the site to tbs.com.

Production

Studio and set design

The show was taped at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California, near ''

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was pro ...

'' studio. The stage layout followed a street-party theme. The show differed from many other late-night talk shows, most notably for not featuring a desk or background of the city in which the show is taped.

House band

''Lopez Tonight''s house band was Michael Bearden and the Ese Vato's, who are famous for performances with

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

and

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977), professionally known by the mononym Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the " Queen of Latin Music" and is n ...

. The band consisted of leader and keyboard player Michael Bearden, guitarist

Tommy Organ Thomas LeRoy Organ, Jr. (born 22 February 1963), known professionally as Tommy Organ or Tommy "O", is an American musician, songwriter and producer. The son of Thomas LeRoy Organ, Sr. (1940 - 1966 Musician, Army Veteran) and Dorothy Louise Rende ...

, bass player Alex Al, percussionist Lenny Castro, trumpeter Bill Churchville, drummer Robin DiMaggio, and saxophonist Sean Holt. As in common talk show format, Michael Bearden and the Ese Vato's would perform the show's opening and closing theme, bumpers into and out of commercial breaks. The show's opening theme was "Lowrider" by the band

, which was also the theme song for ''

''.

Reception

The show has been critically panned.

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

scored the show with a 39/100 based on six reviews. Matthew Gilbert of ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' claims "''Lopez'' has a full-throated energy and a weakness for sophomoric guy humor that can be grating, especially since his show will air Monday through Thursday nights." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' says "Mr. Lopez said he was 'bringing change to late-night TV,' but the only significant change was a coarsening of the already crass atmosphere."

References

External links

* {{2010 Tonight Show conflict 2000s American late-night television series 2000s American variety television series 2009 American television series debuts 2010s American late-night television series 2010s American variety television series 2011 American television series endings English-language television shows TBS (American TV channel) original programming Television series by Warner Horizon Television Television shows filmed in California Television series by Telepictures