The TV return of long-time talk show host and personality Rove McManus has been cut short, with his newest show Saturday Night Rove cancelled after only two episodes.
Network Ten brought back McManus last year as part of its Pilot Week strategy, giving the former Rove Live host the chance to create a Saturday night light entertainment program.
The show was then picked up and developed into Saturday Night Rove. The show only managed 138,000 viewers in its latest episode, while the debut a week prior managed 244,000.
The series, broadcast live in front of a studio audience, was developed as a comedy hour, with McManus playing host to some of Australia’s top comedians.
“Unfortunately Saturday Night Rove hasn’t resonated with viewers the way we had hoped, so Rove and 10 have made the decision to remove it from the schedule," a Network Ten spokesperson says.
"Rove is a sensational entertainer and a close friend of 10, and we thank him for all his hard work, and all the laughs, on Saturday Night Rove.”
McManus stated that the viewing figures indicated that "the audience we hoped would find" wasn't there.
“It was clear looking at the numbers that the audience we hoped would find a free-wheeling live show on a Saturday night just weren’t there. We spoke with 10 today and we both called it," McManus says.
“The opportunity to play live in front of Australia again was fun, no matter how brief, and I would like to thank my amazing co-stars, the behind the scenes team and everyone at 10 who got behind Saturday Night Rove.”
The show was originally picked up for six episodes with series regulars Alex Lee, Alex Jae, Justin Hamilton and Judith Lucy all joining McManus.
Ten will be looking to this year's Pilot Week to add further variety to its programming schedule, despite already being forced to pull one of its most anticipated shows, Catfish Australia, earlier this year.
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