The Real Reason Why It Was Cancelled!

In the book, "Tim & Tom: An American Comedy in Black and White", Tim Reid gives the real reason why "Frank's Place" was cancelled. Even though the typical reasons are true - low ratings, bad timeslots, too smart, ahead of it's time - CBS did renew it for a second season. Scripts were written and shooting was about to start.

But three days before the start date, Tim Reid gets a call from CBS that it was cancelled. He wasn't given a reason why. A year later, he's walking down the street and he hears Walter Cronkite's voice calling for him. Cronkite was the anchorman for CBS News throughout the 60s and 70s. He was "The Most Trusted Man in America". After he retired, he sat on the board of directors for CBS. "I owe you an explanation", his voice boomed. He takes Reid into a bar and told him over drinks.

It was the last episode, "The King of Wall Street", that killed the show. In the episode, a Wall Street tycoon comes into the Chez and laments the loss of businesses to coporate raiders. He gives a speech about how his father and grandfather sold quality products and he sells junk bonds which have no real value. Well, turns out that the CEO of CBS, Laurence Tisch, had bought the network with junk bonds. And he took the episode as a personal offense. "Not on my network", Tisch said. Cronkite and the other members loved the show and tried to convince Tisch otherwise. But Tisch put his foot down. As Cronkite would say, "And that's the way it is".

George Carlin: It's all bullsh-t and it's bad for ya.