Director Joseph Terry and co-executive producers Kathy Samuels and Ethan Nelson depart the rookie talker.
More Staff Turnover At Syndicated ‘Katie’
Disney-ABC’s syndicated rookie Katie with Katie Couric is undergoing more behind-the-scenes shakeups with director Joseph Terry and co-executive producers Kathy Samuels and Ethan Nelson leaving the show just as it wraps up its first season, a Disney spokesperson confirms.
The staffing changes come just weeks after Rachel Miskowiec replaced Michael Morrison as executive producer. Morrison had replaced original executive producer Jeff Zucker who is now running CNN.
Katie was the highest-rated rookie in the just-concluded May sweep with a 1.7 household rating. It ranked No. 6 among all talk shows.
Disney-ABC sold Katie to stations in a two-year deal that will see it return next fall. TV station general managers say Disney-ABC has not begun to actively renew the show for a third season.
Comments (6)
none none says:
June 10, 2013 at 6:05 pm
Bye-Bye
Teri Keene says:
June 10, 2013 at 10:15 pm
Stick a fork in it, this show is done.
Andrea Rader says:
June 11, 2013 at 2:11 am
Last one out, turn off the lights.
Jaclyn Hansen says:
June 11, 2013 at 10:39 am
Too late now, but the endearing/enduring Katie Couric quality is the co-host that can kid around and be kidded-around-upon, which is what made her appealing on Today and nowhere else quite like that. Had she started and had a Gelman/Ed McMahon/ Paul Schaffer-type near her, she would have seemed more likeable and empathetic. Kind of hard to do that once the show’s format is already baked. It seems a shame that Katie Couric, and many others can’t seem to figure out how to translate the morning-show vibe to another type of show. It’s NOT as anchor of the CBS Evening News or hosting a drippy daytime talk show.
Mark Bonin says:
June 11, 2013 at 2:32 pm
I completely agree with you, Get Real. I also think her show tends to be “all about Katie,” which is a shame. It doesn’t go over well with viewers.
Andrea Rader says:
June 11, 2013 at 3:12 pm
I wouldn’t necessarily agree that the format is “baked.” There’s an outside chance of a “reboot” in Season Two, but the recent example of “Anderson/Anderson Live” is not an encouraging one. Katie has a theoretically better chance of a makeover due to better clearances. As for the current format, remember that the reason for launching “Katie” (and blowing up the ABC Daytime schedule in the process) was to give the network’s O&Os the best available successor to Oprah.