It’s a wrap for MTV’s TRL…once again.
Full story below…
After launching to less than stellar ratings last October, the rebooted version of ‘Total Request Live’ – which had been off-air for 9 years – never quite got off the struggle bus.
Now TMZ confirm that the series is being sent straight back to the recycle bin.
Word on the curb is that an email was sent to employees informing them the show is being axed again.
Per the message, TRL won’t be back on April 9th – as was scheduled after its February break.
Rather than going completely Casper, the series will “pivot to short form content that will be featured on social and digital platforms.”
During its brief run, the show struggled to consistently attract major names, saw its hosts (including DC Young Fly) panned, and was watched by the bare minimum – often commanding an audience of less than 200,000.
***********
While a revival may have looked good on paper, this proved to be a failed exercise.
From our vantage point, a number of key mistakes were made – namely not launching after the ratings juggernaut of the VMAs (in August) and opting not to feature a video countdown.
That said, maybe this just highlights that such shows just don’t work in this climate and that resources would be better funnelled into developing fresh concepts.