March 10, 2010, by
D.L. Hughley tried to do a satirical news show on CNN in the fall of 2008 called "D.L. Hughley Breaks the News," his own take on "The Daily Show" on Saturday nights.
But he found very limited budgets for good comedic writers and didn’t like spending so much time in New York. Ratings and revenues were not astounding. So when he requested a move to Los Angeles, CNN said no. He was out by spring 2009.
CNN and satire didn’t quite work. But Hughley quickly found a new gig as a morning radio host in New York City. “It approximates stand up,” he said. “I get to be funny. I get to be topical. I can read an article, make jokes about it. It can be spontaneous. It dig it as much as I’ve ever digged anything besides stand up.”
Indeed, he's going to be in Atlanta Saturday as part of the Royal Comedy Tour, an echo in name of the old Kings of Comedy Tour he was part of in the late 1990s with the late Bernie Mac, Steve Harvey and Cedric the Entertainer.
Q: What happened to your CNN comedy show last year?
A: It was a couple of things. Nobody was buying advertising in this economy. And when I asked to move the show from New York to Los Angeles, they said they couldn’t do it. It was a bit of a grind.
Q: When Bernie Mac died, it made me think about the Beatles when John Lennon died. You can never resurrect the Kings of Comedy tour ever again.
A: It was the best time professionally in terms of working with people who loved what they did. We weren’t selfish. Bernie epitomized that. That’s what people responded to. On the surface, it was four funny guys but we all had great respect for each other and what we do. It was like lightning in a bottle. Unfortunately, we’ll never be able to do a reunion.
Q: Entertainment Weekly recently named “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” [a failed NBC show Hughley was part of in 2006] one of the 50 biggest TV blunders of all time.
A: I saw that. I agree. ‘Studio 60′ was a great concept. It just wasn’t executed right. We were too high brow. We were playing above people’s heads. When people tell you they had to slow the Tivo down to get what you’re saying, then you have a problem.
If You Go
Royal Comedy Tour With Sommore, D.L. Hughley, J. Anthony Brown and Don “D.C.” Curry: March 13, 8 p.m., $48.50-$75.50. Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center, 395 Piedmont Ave., Atlanta. 404-249-6400, www.ticketmaster.com
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