Bravo’s Kathy Problem

It’s never a good sign when a prime time talk show migrates to late night. And by “ever”, I mean, it’s really never happened before, but it isn’t a good sign. That’s what happened last month, though, as “Kathy” moved to 11:30pm following “Watch What Happens Live.”

So what does that mean for Bravo’s favorite red-head? Well, season 1 of “Kathy” started fine and ended up with ratings that were just strong enough for Bravo to justify ordering season 2. Then changes were made to the show. No longer was it Kathy interviewing real people, but instead there were celebrities. The show was also aired live and a stronger emphasis was put on Kathy’s stand up. It made season 2 more enjoyable (but barely).

Did it make it more popular? Frankly, no.

Episode 1 of season 2 attracted 616,000 viewers and a .20 in the 18-49 demo. That was higher than season 1’s finale in July 2012 (499,000 viewers, .20 in 18-49), but far below season 1’s average of 451,667 viewers and 0.35.

Since it premiered, the show has lost significant stamina. Before moving to 11:30 in February, its final 10pm show had 360,000 viewers and a 0.1 in the demo that advertisers most care about. That is almost half as many viewers as the premiere! Bravo obviously knew it needed to try to: a) raise its time slot ratings and b) do something to save “Kathy”.

By moving it to 11:30pm, “Kathy” got a relatively dependable lead-in with WWHL and Bravo is able to instead air repeats of the higher-rated “Real Housewives of Atlanta”. Yes, even a repeat episode of RHoA garnered a 0.4 rating… FOUR TIMES what “Kathy” was getting! It was a smart move in that regard.

The move to 11:30 has not been horrible for “Kathy”. Its ratings have remained in the 0.1-0.2 range and its overall viewers have fluctuated between 477,000 and 322,000 (which is not a season low). No, these are not good ratings, but a move to 11:30 has not killed the show, the show was already dead.

It is very unlikely that there will be a season 3. I hope that Kathy lands on her feet and finds something that showcases her talents a bit better than this lackluster talk show.