Fox Cancels MadTV After 14 Seasons

Fox has canceled one of its longest-running shows – the late-night sketch comedy veteran MadTV says The Hollywood Reporter. The Saturday night mainstay’s current 14th season will be its last on the network.. The show’s co-creator David Salzman says he’s not giving up on the program and plans to shop MadTV to cable networks and other outlets. “There’s a long list of parties that have called us, including a few very recently, and we’re going to start conversations with them very shortly,” Salzman says. Fox told Salzman the show had become too expensive considering its time period and ratings. Salzman believes his show’s budget can scaled back to suit a cable network.

Salzman calls his show “the only success in the 21-year history of Fox’s late night” and gave credit to the network for giving him enough notice to potentially find another distributor without interrupting production. The show’s licensing deal with Comedy Central, which airs the show’s first 11 seasons in repeats, is set to expire at the end of the year. Salzman can offer buyers the exclusive rights to air the show’s library of content if they pick up the show, or sell the show and its library separately.