Bonnie Hunt: Saying goodbye to her talk show?

Just a couple hours ago, my husband and I were watching a TiVo'd episode of "The Bonnie Hunt Show" -- we're not regular viewers, but recorded it today because one of our favorite comedians, Patton Oswalt, was on. "This show is really cheap-looking, like something on public access," said my spouse. (It didn't help that Oswalt was promoting a movie, "Big Fan," which currently exists in something of a netherworld -- no longer in theaters, not yet out on DVD.) Hunt herself is a reliably good talk show guest and has a pleasant personality, but the program never seemed to catch on. Another likable blonde, Ellen DeGeneres, gets all the daytime buzz.

And now, TV blogger Josef Adalian is reporting that "The Bonnie Hunt Show" will finish out its second season, but after that, it's bye-bye Bonnie. "Bonnie Hunt has told her staffers that her daytime talk show will end its two-season run in September," he reports. "Indeed, many syndicated insiders have considered 'Bonnie' a dead show walking since the middle of last season, when it became clear that the show's ratings weren't improving." In addition, stations airing "Bonnie" must pay a licensing fee to producer Warner Bros., instead of the more desirable barter fee (stations would rather not pay up front for a show, especially one like "Bonnie" that draws middling ratings; with the barter system, they split ad revenues with the syndicator).

Adalian states that the show's ratings haven't improved -- "Bonnie" has averaged around a 0.9 rating this fall, the same as last year. By comparison, "Ellen" scored a 2.3 in the same period, according to Broadcasting & Cable.