Ricki Lake Show Canceled – The ‘Ricki Lake Show has been canceled after just one season. Fans can recall how popular the talk show was in the late 90’s, however that level of success was not reached this time by Ms. Lake. Even with the absence of the reigning talk show queen Oprah, the talk show circuit is still a hard one to break. With shows such as ‘The Ellen Degeneres Show’ and ‘Dr. Phil’ having established markets, ‘The Ricki Lake Show’ didn’t fair well with their target demographic of women ages 25-54.
Covering topics like childhood obesity, substance abuse, military PTSD and other important topics was Ricki’s niche in the talk show market. Studio executives responsible for producing the show released a statement regarding their decision to pull the plug.
“While we are proud of the topics the program tackled including childhood obesity, life-after the military, divorce, and addiction we were simply not able to breakthrough the crowded talk show marketplace,” said Stephen Brown, exec VP of programming & development for Twentieth Television, in a statement.
Don’t count out Ms. Lake for future projects though. The ‘Business of Being Born’ filmmaker released a statement assuring fans that she’s enjoyed her second daytime talk show run and will continue to produce and share projects that are of importance to her. “I am so proud of the shows we completed this season, sparking important conversations about everything from raising children to mental illness to suicide prevention to coming out,” She said. “I will continue to be an active and passionate voice for subjects that are close to my heart through a variety of platforms — and a return to my documentary filmmaking work with Abby Epstein. I am excited to create meaningful and provocative films similar to our 2007 project, The Business of Being Born.”
That documentary with Epstein was an intriguing look into the medical professions claim on labor and delivery. It became a successful film that took a hard look at the medical side of childbirth. Offering audiences informed alternatives to hospital births was a chief goal of the film. Since its 2008 release, there was a follow up documentary ‘More Business of Being Born’ in 2011.
Ms. Lake first got her start in the 1988 cult classic ‘Hair Spray’ where she played Tracey Turnblad. She’s been an advocate for weight loss and healthy living since slimming down nearly a decade ago.
