In a recent interview with the StarTribune’s CJ, Nate Berkus reflected on what went wrong with The Nate Berkus Show. The series was cancelled after two seasons on the air and the last episode aired on May 24th.
I think that for me it probably wasn’t the best decision to do a daytime, hourly talk show every single day. Design is something I think is elective. It’s something a lot of people feel is a luxury. It’s not must-see TV. For me, design is really important, but in order to do a show every day you have to talk about a lot of other things. You have to talk about cooking, fashion, style.
The truth is I’m very grateful that I had two full seasons — the show is on until September. It takes a long time for a show to gain traction and to find its viewership. I had a very loyal audience on Facebook, on Twitter, posting and tweeting about how they loved this recipe or the talented people my producers and I found and made a part of the show. The audience was very loyal from the beginning but the audience didn’t grow by leaps and bounds. That’s the goal with a daily syndicated show. The ratings for my show were decent. We had a lot of viewers, a lot of people who had seen my work on “Oprah” and I think they expected the same from a daily show.
Truthfully, I was on “Oprah” about every six weeks for 10 years. The production that went into every single time I was there took weeks and weeks and weeks to do. You can’t replicate that magnitude when you are doing something every day. Would I do it again? Probably not. I learned a lot from that experience. I think the most important thing that I took away were the relationships that I have now; the producers [with whom] I worked. It’s almost like being in summer camp together. You’re in sort of the trenches every single day and as soon as you finish a show you’ve got another one coming right up the pipeline. It’s like a column. It was definitely a wonderful experience for me, but I learned it’s probably not what I was meant to do and that’s OK.
What do you think? Do you agree with Berkus’ assessment? What do you think worked? What didn’t? Are you missing the program?
I think Nate was a very enjoyable show. I looked forward to his show every afternoon. It’s really a shame that the networks will leave the smut on the TV, but something that can be viewed by the entire family is cancelled. Please put his show back on.
The Nate Burkus Show was a modern ‘way to live’ show that I looked to for a fresh take on design. His warm personality was a perfect ease into a hectic day…. I am sure his design will continue, just not for us……. sadly. It would be wonderful to see him again on another show like this in the near future!
I LOVED The Nate Show! I looked forward to it every single day. I am so disappointed that the show was cancelled. It is a shame that the public is hooked on mindless “reality” Tv and Jerry Springer. The Nate Show was smart, trendy and informative. I transformed our home with the knowledge I learned from the show. Nate, you will be missed!
I LOVED The Nate Show and looked forward to it every day. I understand he loves to travel and to decorate. Being on a daily show would hamper his ability to do those things in the manner he has been used to doing. It’s just a shame for the rest of us who enjoyed seeing him each day. There is no other show like it. If he could do a new weekly show on the OWN network, that would be great. Please Nate, come back to TV. We miss you. Your passion, your vision and your love for what you… Read more »
Enjoyed the show. I enjoyed viewers House Proud. Seeing what they had done, and many of Nates ideas. Not so much into constantly framing fabric, because I am into art and find many nice art prints at GoodWill’s. Nate’s show had a touch of'”This Old House”, “Home Time”, and P. Allen Smith gardening, that I liked, which are 3 shows I often miss due to time, or had all ready seen several of their repeats. I loved the idea of low cost to change a room. I have a kitchen and bath and side room that still is stripped down… Read more »
It’s just unfortunate!! Loved the show!
Will really miss Nate. Loved his show and was totally inspired by his design work. Also liked the other features like cooking and makeovers.
Will miss having Nate as part of my day…mabe he could do a show on hgtv….that would be great…
I miss Nate’s Show as many do. I understand the ratings issue but this program was different than anything out there. What a SHAME. CBS does not always make the best choices for shows to be cancelled….money, money, is the game!
Hope to see Nate another time and place…..love you
Jane
I was so disappointed that the Nate Show was cancelled. I looked forward to watching it every day..I thought it was very informative. Nate is such a great host- he is just who he is. He tried to help those of us who are just ordinary people trying to make a difference in our homes and in our personal lives. Thank you Nate. I saw every show. You and your staff were wonderful and very talented.. Love you!!
Just found out no more Nate. I really enjoyed his diverse entertainment. I enjoyed coming home every afternoon from work and sitting down to a show so positive, I always learned something from the show. We all need assistance on what to do with this and that, especially flea market finds, and Mr. Goodwill Hunting, what a talented person. His guests were from so many areas. Fashion, design, home improvement, personal improvement, and of course seeing Nate’s progress in the kitchen every week was very intertaining. Sad to see you have given Katie a show, she is as boring as… Read more »
I am very disappointed that Nate’s show has been cancelled, because I enjoy his design sense so much. Though I understand the production issues and the financial reasons for the cancellation, it is a shame the show that was so helpful in designing and improving our homes is no longer available. I have recorded the show every day that it aired. Were there parts of the show that I won’t miss too much – cooking, fashion, makeup – sure. It would be nice if someone (Oprah) would produce several Nate Berkus design specials a year. Just a whole show of… Read more »
Just found out that Nate’s show is canceled. I am so sad to hear it. I too really enjoyed drinking my morning coffee and watching Nate work his design magic. I thought he was a very pleasant and handsome host. The show was obviously a quality show. If I had any criticism in retrospect it would simply be that I think it tried to be a “well rounded” show. However I’m fine with a show not covering cooking or fashion and simply being about home design, renovation, and organization, which is interesting enough on it’s own. I think it would… Read more »
I loved the show,as did most of my friends. We have all created something of interest from a sidewalk pick up or a second hand store. Especially when we were young and on a limited budget. A lot of “would be” fans are probably working and unable to see the show. I hope to see him again on another time slot or network.
WHAT??? I’m so sad not to be able to watch your show. Just found out this morning when I was looking through the guide to see what your topics would be today. Loved your design , cooking and fashion segments. You will be missed! I can’t imagine that Rachael will be able to fill your shoes.