It seems that the plan to give Craig Ferguson a syndicated half-hour talk show has fizzled out. After months of negotiations, Variety reports that Tribune Broadcasting has given up trying to launch the new show. It had envisioned the talk-meets-variety program as a pre-primetime “showcase for the offbeat humor” of Ferguson, one that would lead into nightly primetime TV programming. Apparently, not enough network affiliates could be convinced to abandon current pre-primetime programming like Jeopardy!, Wheel Of Fortune, and celebrity news programs to make the show viable.


But fear not, Robot Skeleton Army: he won’t be disappearing entirely. The Ferguson-hosted Celebrity Name Game has just been renewed for a second season of equally frenetic—though much more family-friendly—televised fun.