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NBCUniversal is pulling the plug on “Access Hollywood” after nearly 30 years as part of its broader plan to phase out its syndicated programming.
“NBCUniversal is making changes to our original marketing strategy to better align with the programming preferences of local stations,” NBCUniversal CEO Frances Berwick said in a statement. “The company will continue to work on distributing our existing programming library and other off-network titles, while closing production on our original shows. These shows have provided audiences with great content for talk and entertainment for many years and we are very proud of the teams behind them.”
Mario Lopez, Kit Hoover, Scott Evans and Zuri Hall were the hosts.
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NBCUniversal has announced that it is canceling “Access Hollywood” after nearly 30 years. Mario Lopez was among its managers. (Zach Dilgard/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
“Access Hollywood” first launched in 1996 and has had a notable lineup of anchors and writers over the decades, including Pat O’Brien, Nancy O’Dell, Billy Bush, Jeff Probst, Shauna Robinson, Maria Menounos and Natalie Morales.
While the show covers the latest entertainment news and gossip about Hollywood’s biggest stars, “Access Hollywood” is perhaps best known for delving into presidential politics during the 2016 election.
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In what was widely called the October surprise, the Washington Post published the infamous “‘Access Hollywood'” tape from 2006 that captured a heated microphone conversation between Donald Trump, then host of NBC’s “The Apprentice,” and Billy Bush while on a bus.
In a leaked tape, Trump was caught bragging about his ability to seduce women, telling Bush, “If you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. … Grab ’em by the p—-. You can do anything.”
A still from the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape that captures the lewd comments Donald Trump made in 2005 and resurfaced during the 2016 election. (Screenshot/NBC)
The tape caused a stir within the Republican Party, prompting criticism from members of Trump’s party and calls for him to drop out of the presidential race. Trump famously opened the conversation with “locker room talk” but apologized.
Although many thought the tape would boost his position, Trump finally persevered and defeated Hillary Clinton in the election a few days later. Notably, Bush was fired as host of “Today” because of the explosive leak.
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Then-Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump was forced to talk about the “Access Hollywood” tape during his second debate with Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. (Rick Wilking-Pool/Getty Images)
Other canceled shows in addition to “Access Hollywood” are “Karamo” and “The Steve Wilkos Show.”
The cancellation comes just weeks after NBCUniversal announced that “The Kelly Clarkson Show” will end later this year.
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