''Showtime at the Apollo'' (formerly ''It's Showtime at the Apollo'' and ''Apollo Live'') is an American

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a comp� ...

that first aired in syndication from September 12, 1987, to May 24, 2008. In 2018, the series returned on Fox with

Steve Harvey Broderick Stephen Harvey Sr. Also aired August 16, 2015. (born January 17, 1957) is an American comedian, television host, actor, writer, and producer. He hosts ''The Steve Harvey Morning Show'', ''Family Feud'', ''Celebrity Family Feud'', '' ...

hosting. Filmed at the

Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater (formerly the Hurtig & Seamon's New Theatre; also Apollo Theatre or 125th Street Apollo Theatre) is a multi-use Theater (structure), theater at 253 125th Street (Manhattan), West 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of U ...

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

, the show features live performances from both professional and up-and-coming artists, and also features the Amateur Night competition. In many cities such as New York (where it aired on

WNBC WNBC (channel 4) is a television station in New York City that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship of the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Linden, New Jersey� ...

), it often aired after ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' during the late Saturday night/early Sunday morning hours, and was often paired with the similarly syndicated '' Soul Train''. A live non-televised version of the show takes place every Wednesday (which is the original Apollo Amateur Night competition that has been running for over seventy years), with the taped version of the show for television being recorded in advance on other nights for later airing.

Hosts

Various musicians and entertainers acted as weekly guest hosts during the first two seasons. Stand-up comedian Rick Aviles was the first host of Amateur Night, serving in that role until midway through the second season. From 1989 to 1991, Sinbad served as the permanent host. The series reverted to having guest hosts during the fifth and sixth seasons, with comics Mark Curry and

alternating as hosts of Amateur Night. In 1993,

began a seven-year stint as the permanent host. At the start of the 1998–99 season, Harvey and Kiki Sheppard hosted a series of ''"Best of..."'' episodes until late October because production was delayed due to a labor dispute. After Harvey left in 2000, he was replaced by Rudy Rush. Rush was joined by new comedic dancer C.P. Lacey, who replaced Howard "Sandman" Sims, who had retired. Harvey returned to host the Fox revival of ''Showtime at the Apollo'', beginning on March 1, 2018.

Change of production

The original show was created by veteran television producer Bob Banner in conjunction with Percy Sutton and was produced and directed by BBA senior producer Don Weiner. After a dispute with the Apollo Theater Foundation in 2002, the original producers minus Bob Banner, who was no longer with the show after 1996 left to start a rival show called ''Showtime in Harlem'' later known simply as ''Showtime''. ''Showtime in Harlem'' was produced at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The show was later moved to California and renamed ''Live in Hollywood'', lasting one season in 2003 with Shepard as host. ''It's Showtime at the Apollo'' was subsequently produced by de Passe Entertainment. It was for a time, hosted once again by Sinbad, who briefly returned to the show in 2006 while Mo'Nique was on maternity leave. Whoopi Goldberg became the new host for the 2006–2007 season. At times, comedian and actor Anthony Anderson hosted during the 2006–2007 season.

BET revival

It was announced on September 30, 2011, that the BET cable network would produce a similar show titled ''Apollo Live'' starting in 2012 with Tony Rock as the host. The judges are the legendary

Gladys Knight Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Knight recorded hits through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with her family group Gladys Knight & the Pips, which included her brother Merald "Bubba" Knight and cousins Will ...

; famed beatboxer Doug E Fresh, and

Michael Bivins Michael Lamont Bivins (born August 10, 1968) is an American singer, rapper, manager, and producer, and a founding member of New Edition and Bell Biv DeVoe. Biography Bivins was born and still lives in Boston. He and his wife, Teasha, have four ...

of the 1980s group

New Edition New Edition is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B/Pop music, pop group from the Roxbury, Boston, Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1978 by singer/rapper Bobby Brown. Their name is taken to mean a new edition of the Jackson ...

and early 1990s group Bell Biv DeVoe.

Fox specials/revival

''Showtime at the Apollo'' was revived by

Fox Broadcasting Company Fox Broadcasting Company, LLC (commonly known as Fox; stylized in all caps) is an Television in the United States, American commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast television broadcaster, television network serving as the flagship proper ...

in 2016–2017 with a pair of specials hosted by Steve Harvey. The first, a two-hour showcase, aired on December 5, 2016, while the second aired on February 1, 2017. A Christmas special called ''Showtime at the Apollo: Christmas'' aired on December 14, 2017, with co-host Adrienne Bailon. It was later announced that Fox would start airing it as a weekly series in the 2017–18 television season, beginning March 1, 2018. Singer Cam Anthony won the 2018 season with his performance of the

Bill Withers William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. He is known for having several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), "Use Me ( ...

song, " Ain't No Sunshine".

Awards and nominations

''Showtime at the Apollo'' has won an

NAACP Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. The over 40 ...

for "Outstanding Variety Series/Special" in 1991. The show was nominated in 1996, 1998, and 1999 for the same category. In 2000, the show was nominated by the ''NAACP Image Awards'' for "Outstanding Youth or Children's Series/Special" for the "Apollo Kids Finals" special episode. However, that same year, former host Steve Harvey has won an Image Award for "Outstanding Performance in a Variety Series/Special"."Showtime at the Apollo" (1987) – Awards
nbsp;–

IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

(accessed October 16, 2011)

References

External links

*
FOX siteOfficial Apollo Theater website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Showtime At The Apollo 1987 American television series debuts 2008 American television series endings 2018 American television series debuts 2018 American television series endings 1980s American musical comedy television series 1990s American musical comedy television series 2000s American musical comedy television series 2010s American musical comedy television series 1980s American variety television series 1990s American variety television series 2000s American variety television series 2010s American variety television series African-American television American television series revived after cancellation American English-language television shows First-run syndicated television programs in the United States Fox Broadcasting Company original programming Singing talent shows Apollo Theater