(ABC / Lorenzo Bevilaqua)
Today, ABC is airing the last episode of its daytime series, chew it. Last month, the network announced that the cooking-themed talk show had been canceled after more than 1,400 episodes. Will you miss it? Was this the right decision?
Launched in September 2011, chew it replace the All my kids soap opera after its 41 years on the network. A talk show that incorporates segments related to cuisine and lifestyle, the series was originally hosted by Mario Batali, Carla Hall, Clinton Kelly, Daphne Oz and Michael Symon. Oz left the show after six seasons, and Batali left following allegations of sexual misconduct in December 2017.
ABC decided to cancel chew it in order to extend their Hello america series at three o’clock. NBC Today the show has had a third hour (with various titles) since October 2000. The current incarnation is Megyn Kelly today.
While the third hour of Today generally followed the two hours of the regular program, the third hour of the Hello america will be broadcast separately in the afternoon. The new hour of GMA should be recorded and not shown live, as is the case with the regular program. ABC makes this decision as Today took the lead in various demographics in the morning odds race.
If ABC had wanted to expand GMA at three o’clock, couldn’t they have replaced either View Where Living with Kelley and Ryan? This was unlikely to happen since both perform better than chew it. Specifically, View increases its audience and records its best audiences since the 2014-15 season (a rarity in the current landscape). During this time, chew it was in last place, placing 13th out of 13 day heats.
While ABC may have high hopes for a third hour of GMA, they undoubtedly have an uphill battle ahead of them. Daytime audiences often don’t like change and some viewers still want it chew it to replace All my kids. Time will tell if the new hour of GMA will do better than chew it made.
What do you think? Do you think ABC should have canceled chew it TV shows? If not, what could they have done to increase the ratings? Will you check out a third hour of Hello America?