Bethenny Frankel’s Talk Show In Danger: Not Picked Up By Major Networks

RealityTea.com:

Bethenny Frankel has been the subject of constant controversy as of late; it seems every other day she is embroiled in some sort of issue causing a media tail-spin! Needless to say — it’s been quite a year for diet drink maven and wannabe mogul.


Bethenny has made no secret of her desire to leave reality TV behind in the hopes of landing her own talk show. Recent reports stated Mama Frankel had shot a pilot for her own show, but was having trouble hooking a network even going so far as to hire a coach to soften the abrasive, no-nonsense style that made her famous in the reality world.


The Bethenny Ever After star’s dreams of being the next Oprah were apparently closer than we all thought, as The Hollywood Reporter is revealing NBC was jonesing to pick up some new talk show blood and Bethenny made a short list of contenders that included Survior host Jeff Probst and Ricki Lake (formerly of talks show’s pasts, currently of Dancing With The Stars).


The Hollywood Reporter describes that launching a talk show is a precarious situation for a network with all the competition from already established shows, thus they must carefully weigh who will gain the most traction with viewers nationwide. Basically, a show must stay in a holding tank and be demoed across a variety of markets before it is “cleared” in the “three-quarters of the country” needed to garner a launch. Once it gets a “launch” a network will back it and air the show.


“If NBC stations pass on her Warner Bros. Telepictures’ show, the former Real Housewife of New York could find it difficult to get the clearances she needs to launch despite support from Ellen DeGeneres,” THR explains of Bethenny’s predicament.


Well, unfortunately for Bethenny it seems NBC made the decision to go with Jeff’s show instead, while Ricki’s show is headed for the Tribune group of stations that helped launch Anderson Cooper’s now popular talk show. “This shuffle is probably bad news for Frankel who must now struggle to find enough carriage to make a launch likely,” the article alleges. Currently there is no expected launch for Bethenny’s show as she is still waiting to be picked up by major networks.