Poor sports: Comedy Central cancels both Sports Show with Norm Macdonald and Onion SportsDome

Tough case of the Mondays for fans of sports-themed comedy news programs, as Comedy Central decided not to renew either of its new series — canceling both Sports Show with Norm Macdonald and Onion SportsDome.

I cannot say I’m surprised. More people were watching A&E’s Storage Wars than they were Macdonald. And for all of the comedians I know who love Norm, none of them reside within Comedy Central’s target demographic of man-boys 18-24. Besides, anyone who has been paying attention to the the basic cable network recently has known that when they like a new series, they often renew it before the initial episode order is up, touting the show’s ratings in men 18-24 as proof. See: Workaholics. See: What I wrote about Workaholics getting renewed.

Macdonald, who couldn’t stop abusing his Twitter feed during the U.S. Open golf tournament this weekend, hasn’t commented there yet about his show’s cancellation. He did, however, make a few comments to Entertainment Weekly. Among his ideas: ‚ÄúAn Internet campaign to save the show, almost like they do with shows about witches and vampires and aliens from outer space‚Ķ. Maybe I‚Äôll call [the network] and ask them to bring it back. I‚Äôll say, ‚ÄòJust bring it back. How much could it hurt television, really?‚Äô‚Äù

As for Onion SportsDome, which hadn’t been on the air in months anyhow, its inaugural season was a joyful enough parody of ESPN’s SportsCenter, but all too often had to rely on segments that didn’t even cover actual sports to fill the 22-minute weekly hole. The Onion people still can feel good about themselves today, as their trumped-up bid to win an actual Pulitzer gained plenty of mainstream media attention and celebrity starpower. And the organization’s other new TV show, The Onion News Network, will return for a second season this fall on IFC.

Sean L. McCarthy

Editor and publisher since 2007, when he was named New York's Funniest Reporter. Former newspaper reporter at the New York Daily News, Boston Herald and smaller dailies and community papers across America. Loves comedy so much he founded this site.

View all posts by Sean L. McCarthy →