NBC just signed Neil Patrick Harris to make 10 episodes of a variety show. It’s a great fit for the talented performer, and if it’s a hit, it will be the first successful variety show on American TV in more than 35 years. Here are some variety show revivals that didn’t make it.
Dolly
In 1987, ABC tried to bring back the ‘70s style variety show with probably the perfect performer: beloved country singer and actress Dolly Parton. The network paid her $44 million and guests like Miss Piggy, Tom Petty, and Linda Ronstadt joined her each week to sing a song and tell a few corny jokes. Ratings fell every week, even after Parton took over control of the show and switched out the Hollywood glitz for a “down home” vibe. It was cancelled in Spring 1988.
The Nick and Jessica Variety Hour
Married pop stars Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson followed up their popular reality show with ABC’s The Nick and Jessica Variety Hour. Meant to be a series of regular specials, the show placed the duo at the center of a ‘70s throwback, including guests as disparate as Johnny Bench and Kermit the Frog. Only two specials aired in 2004 and then, like Sonny and Cher, the couple divorced.
The Wayne Brady Show
Amiable comedian and singer Wayne Brady was the breakout star of ABC’s improv comedy game show Whose Line Is It Anyway? and the network thought he was multitalented enough to anchor a variety show. Debuted in 2001, it flopped…and was restructured into a daytime talk show which ran for two seasons.
The Maya Rudolph Show
Rudolph was part of the cast of Saturday Night Live for nearly a decade, proving her comic chops as much as her musical ones, imitating singers like Beyonce and Christina Aguilera. She had told many reporters that her dream was to host a variety show and in 2014 NBC signed her up to do one. And if it did well, the network said, they’d allow The Maya Rudolph Show to be a series of specials. The first aired in 2014 and attracted a whopping seven million viewers…but NBC is yet to announce if more are on the way. Here is a peek at her opening segment.