CBS cancels reality show after one airing

By Matthew B. Zeidman

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 4/11/08 – Apparently, a preternaturally flexible skater, a wisecracking country star and a familiar triumvirate of judges (two nice, one nasty) wasn’t enough to keep “Secret Talents of the Stars” on the air. CBS made the announcement on Thursday that the new reality show showcasing celebrities’ hidden talents wouldn’t be returning for another run, despite having only aired once.

The show, which suffered Tuesday from relatively low ratings (4.6 million viewers), was formatted similarly to “American Idol,” with the judges giving their opinions of each performance and viewers going online to vote. R&B singer Brian McKnight and actress Debbie Reynolds acted as the soft-touch commentators, while producer Gavin Polone gave Simon Cowell a run for his money, allowing struggling contestants no quarter. “Dancing With the Stars” and “Seinfeld” alum John O’Hurley rounded out the program as host.

The announcement was bad news for Olympic silver medalist Sasha Cohen and country singer Clint Black, who beat out “Star Trek’s” George Takei and R&B singer Mýa to move onto the show’s now-defunct semi-finals.

Despite complaining of a pinched nerve after her performance, Cohen wowed the audience with her ability to stretch and bend her body to its limit alongside members of the New Shanghai Circus. Reynolds joked that she could have saved her second marriage if she was able to do even one of Cohen’s moves, while Polone complained the skater’s act wasn’t “womanly” enough.

Black also won over voters, as well as the judges, trading in his guitar for standup comedy, but Takei wasn’t so lucky when he traded in his phaser for a turn at singing country. Though McKnight and Reynolds commended him for his passion, Polone bordered on offensively harsh, calling Takei’s attempt at “On the Road Again” the “Brokeback Mountain version” of the song (Takei revealed he was gay in 2005) and advising the actor to “de-suckify” his voice. Takei shared with the audience that the recurrent theme of freedom in country music drew him to the genre after his family’s release from a Japanese-American internment camp following World War II.

Mýa showed off her childhood penchant for tap-dancing, but failed to win enough votes, despite being favored by the judges to move on in the competition.

Before the live show’s cancellation, several more celebrities were scheduled to compete, including former child actor Danny Bonaduce (unicycle), recently retired wrestler Ric Flair (salsa dancing), noted musician Sheila E. (juggling) and stoic comedian Ben Stein (jitterbugging).