Matt Buckler: Piers Morgan starts talk show with controversy

Apr. 21—Piers Morgan was expected to be the next great cable TV talk show host.

He was the replacement for the legendary Larry King on CNN and he promised viewers that he would establish new viewing records for CNN.

We know that never happened. The show lacked electricity and it was difficult to watch Morgan for an entire hour without dozing off.

He was removed from the job, losing a high-profile time slot.

Morgan, however, has continued to bounce around. Low ratings do not seem to affect his ability to find work.

His latest project is "Piers Morgan Uncensored" which airs on Talk TV, a network that is owned by Rupert Murdoch and is to be streamed on American television by Fox Nation starting April 25.

While his CNN show started out flat, his new show has started to make headlines. That's because he started with the right guest for controversy, former president Donald Trump.

Morgan and Trump do have a connection. Morgan was a winner on "Celebrity Apprentice" which was hosted by Trump.

According to Deadline TV, the two got tangled up in an argument about whether the 2020 presidential election was rigged, as Trump has been saying for the last 15 months.

Morgan said if the claims are true to "prove it." Trump, meanwhile, called Morgan a fool.

A clip being used to promote the new program showed Trump walking off the set.

According to audio recordings collected by NBC, however, Morgan and Trump were very cordial to each other.

So the walkout could be a ploy by Morgan just to stir the pot and create some series premiere hype for the new show.

Caitlyn Jenner, who was supposed to be a guest on the second show, has canceled and she had a heck of a reason for doing it — because of Morgan's "pathetic attempt to revive the career of a failed television host."

Morgan at least is showing some energy, something he failed to do on his CNN show, which could have been called "Piers Morgan Unwatchable."

Perhaps he learned his lesson. Having Trump storm off your show — whether it was staged or not staged — seems like a great idea to get a new show rolling.

Ratings check

There are only a handful of episodes remaining for NBC's signature drama, "This Is Us." The series, however, is gaining momentum as viewers get ready for a finale that is expected to create more tears than a suitcase full of onions.

Tuesday's episode generated its largest audience of the season — 5.087 million viewers. And it accomplished this without any help from its lead-in show, "Mr. Mayor," which only brought 1.6 million viewers to the table.

The show didn't reach the standards of CBS' "FBI" block, which dominated Tuesday's top three positions, with "FBI" leading the way with 7.5 million.

The show, however, made an impact. Many people record "This Is Us" to watch it at their convenience, but apparently more people are starting to watch it on its normal time period so that they won't miss anything.

ABC's "Black-ish" ended its eight-season run Tuesday, but only 2.5 million turned in to say goodbye.

Considering what "Black-ish" has achieved over the years, one would expect a bigger send-off.

Because of rerun syndication, however, there is never going to be a send-off.

In the cable rankings, the NBA playoffs continued to be a big draw for TNT as coverage took the top three slots.

Finishing fourth overall among viewers 18-49 was one of cable's most underrated series, "Curse of Oak Island." Apparently, the search for a hidden treasure makes for unbelievable television.

"The Mayans M.C." made its season debut Tuesday finishing 16th with 680,000. As the show has become more and more violent, the audience has become smaller and smaller.

Follow Matt Buckler for more television, radio, and sports coverage on the JI's Twitter @journalinquirer, and see his articles on the Journal Inquirer Facebook page.