CBS Television Distribution has renewed “The Arsenio Hall Show” for a second season. Former Tonight Show host Jay Leno made his first public appearance since exiting NBC’s late-night staple to congratulate Hall and break the news of the show’s renewal on Wednesday. “We are thrilled that Arsenio will be returning for a second season,” CBSTVD president of sales Joe DiSalvo said. “We knew Arsenio had a built-in fan base, but he’s also reaching a new generation. This season, Arsenio has been the youngest late-night talk show on broadcast television and has given our station partners a real alternative for their late-night lineups.” For the first week of February, Hall’s show attracted viewers averaging 50.1 years of age, which CTD says is the youngest among late-night talk shows on broadcast TV this season. His household ratings for the same week were a 0.7, which means about 1.02 million homes tuned in each night. He had a 0.4 rating among viewers 18-49 and among those 25-54, on par with fellow freshman syndicated talker “Queen Latifah,”which airs in daytime.
One day after Jay Leno helped make a surprise season-two announcement, Arsenio Hall — with help from a look-a-like —announced that Prince would be the sole guest on Wednesday, March 5, for what’s billed as “a rare late-night appearance.” Prince, who recently guest-starred in “New Girl’s” Super Bowl episode, will perform several songs and be interviewed by Hall, sharing his plans for the year. “The Arsenio Hall Show has always been so welcoming to us in the past and so we wanted to return that favor,” Hall says, reading off a letter written by Prince.
