Arsenio Hall of the TV show "The Arsenio Hall Show" attends the Television Critic Association's Summer Press Tour on July 29, 2013 in Beverly Hills, Calif.
We can only hope for a return of The Dog Pound from Arsenio Hall — and we might get it with the comedian making a light-night television comeback this September.
Coming off a 19-year hiatus, Hall expects to grab a mix of demographics with his new CBS-owned show—the nationally syndicated Arsenio Hall Show will play across a variety of stations, depending on the market—knowing some former viewers, likely into their 40s by now, will simply want to see where his life has led, while the younger generation will want to tune in for his take on music and comedy culture.
Hey, this could be the perfect father-son late-night television date.
While Hall, 57, certainly wants to pump his own television brand that provided a bit livelier studio audience in the yesteryears of television—producers call this new Sept. 9 debut a “party”—he understands the late-night landscape has vastly changed since his five-year run decades ago. He’s okay with that, telling audiences during his ongoing promotional tour that he’s certainly changed, even if his spiritedness remains.
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Amidst slumping viewership, Hall stepped away from his first foray into late-night television in 1994, focusing on his family and his comedy since. His gentle return to public life took a national step when he won Donald Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice in 2012, setting the stage for more public appearances en route to the launch of the 2013 gig.
Now he’s hoping to take the apprentice part right out of his business model, returning to a seat that has him welcoming pop and hip-hop musicians, comedians and celebrities of all sorts.
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“It’s kind of the same Arsenio you know — less hair, less shoulder pad — but inserting myself into this culture of music, comedy, pop and hop,” he said during a press tour.
Hall will film at Sunset Bronson studios in Los Angeles and has signed on The Posse, a five-member band led by Robin DiMaggio, to bring musical life to his set. We’ll just wait and see how much of a party it really turns out to be.