Fox Drives Spike Into Late, Late Night

Fox has ordered late-night comedy Talk Show With Spike Feresten for this fall and will slot it Saturday nights at 12:30 a.m. following sketch series MADtv.

The half-hour show is a talk-sketch hybrid hosted by Feresten, who has written for both Seinfeld and The Late Show With David Letterman. 

Fox Senior VP of Late Night Programming Todd Yasui had brought the show with him to the network when he was hired in December.

Yasui, formerly executive producer of CBS’s Late Late Show With Craig Kilborn, was executive producer of the show’s development prior to his hiring at Fox.  Feresten will now handle EP duties for the show, which is a production of Fox Television Studios.

The announcement comes after Peter Liguori said the network is looking to re-enter the late-night game, albeit cautiously.  Liguori said his plan is to launch a show in a weekend late-night slot, with the possibility of moving it to weekdays if it develops an audience.