Curtain Closing On ‘At the Movies'

Long-running syndicated movie review show canceled

By David Tanklefsky -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/25/2010 1:10:24 PM

. Long-running movie review show At The Movies has been canceled.  The show, which was popularized by critics Gene Siskel and Robert Ebert and now features hosts Michael Phillips and A.O. Scott, will air its final episode Aug. 14.

"This was a very difficult decision, especially considering the program's rich history and iconic status within the entertainment industry" Disney-ABC Domestic TV, the show's distributor, said in a statement.  "But from a business perspective, it became clear this weekly, half-hour, broadcast syndication series was no longer sustainable."

Siskel and Ebert first teamed up together to host a local show on PBS in Chicago in 1975, but the At the Movies brand began in 1986 with Siskel and Ebert At the Movies.  After Siskel died in 1999, Ebert continued the show with Richard Roeper.

"At the Movies was one of the last survivors of half-hour syndication. It didn't fail so much as have its format shot out from beneath it," Ebert wrote in a post on the Chicago Sun-Times web site.  "Blame the economy, because many stations would rather sell a crappy half-hour infomercial than program a show they respect. Blame the fact that everything seems to be going to hell in a hand basket," he wrote later in his blog. 

"Doing that show is harder than it may seem," he said.  "But I can tell you this: It's every bit as much fun as it looks like."