‘Stephanie Miller Show’ Cancelled By Syndicate

Buena Vista’s “Stephanie Miller Show” is the first of this fall’s new major syndicated talk shows to be canceled - a week after the syndicator said it had no plans to do so.

Buena Vista announced the demise of the sketch-comedy/light talk late-night program Friday, after that night’s show was taped. A repeat aired Monday night and the rest of the week will have four new shows featuring guest hosts.

It’s standard practice in the TV biz for the outgoing host to disappear immediately once cancellation has been announced. The concern is that these hosts, generally not in a pleasant frame of mind, may not do the last shows up to standards or may use them for a personal forum.

The program launched nationally on Sept. 15 and never gained a sizeable audience. Nationally, “The Stephanie Miller Show” averaged a 1.4 rating (percentage of the 95.9 million TV homes).

After this week’s shows, BVTV will offer stations repeats of the cancelled program through Jan. 20.