Movies - TV
Why The Chevy Chase Show Failed In Its First Season
By WITNEY SEIBOLD
When Johnny Carson left "The Tonight Show" in 1992, late-night television went through a tenuous time that saw Jay Leno and David Letterman feuding, the rise of “The Arsenio Hall Show,” the emergence of Jon Stewart, and failed contenders like Whoopi Goldberg. In the middle of all this was "The Chevy Chase Show," the shortest-lived and worst of the lot.
The show lasted only 29 episodes, airing on Fox from September 7 to October 11, 1993, and it’s easy to see why it was canceled: It simply wasn't very good. Clips online reveal a low-energy Chase enacting limp slapstick from his glory days, a low-energy audience not laughing at him, and interviews that were full of prolonged pauses and awkward moments.
Both Vulture and the YouTube channel Hats Off Entertainment have combed through the remains of the show and highlighted one notorious episode — the first, in fact — wherein Chase interviewed Goldie Hawn. In the episode, Chase dances awkwardly and talks to Hawn in a way that offers no insight or wit; it was, essentially, like listening in on a boring lunch conversation.