Lopez Tonight canceled: TV ‘really, really white again’
George Lopez with Nicki Minaj on his show, Lopez Tonight. (Photo: lopeztonight.com)
Story from The Takeaway. Use audio player above for full report.
When ABC pulled the plug on George Lopez’s eponymous sitcom in 2007, the Mexican-American comedian said, “TV just became really, really white again.” Five years later, TBS has announced it will cancel Lopez’s late night talk show due to slumping ratings. And in the five year interim, television doesn’t appear to have gotten any more diverse.
“Did you guys see the news — unemployment is at an all-time high, and for Latinos, it just got a little higher,” Lopez joked after announcing the cancelation of his show.
Jorge Rivas, multimedia editor and pop culture blogger at ColorLines Magazine, says there’s a disconnect between our multiracial society and what is being represented in media.
“It’s important to consider the changing demographics in the country,” Rivas said. “Latinos are the fastest growing group of people in the nation currently, and it’s important that we have a positive representation of them on television, and it shouldn’t just be on Spanish-speaking television.”
Rivas points out that comedy-variety shows on TV, with the exception of Chelsea Handler, are all currently hosted by white males.
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