Fox tabs Sykes to fill MadTV's late night Saturday slot
04/01/09 12:39 PM
By ED BARK
Fox's MadTV will be a goner at the end of this season, but Wanda Sykes will be moving right in next fall.
The network announced Wednesday that Sykes will host a weekly one-hour late nighter on Saturdays at 10 p.m. (central).
Entertainment president Kevin Reilly calls her "a great alternative voice to the current late-night landscape. She has the perfect personality for Fox, and we look forward to reinvigorating Saturday night TV with her."
Sykes, who is openly gay, previously starred in the short-lived Fox comedy series Wanda At Large.
"I'm married, so this was a great excuse to get out of the house on a Saturday night," she reasoned in a Fox publicity release. "Yes, my relationship with Fox hasn't been the best, but if Rihanna can go back to Chris Brown, I can go back to Fox. Oprah tried to talk me out of it, but I think Fox has changed."
Sykes will have a chance to test-drive her political satire as the host of May's White House Correspondents' Association dinner. She also currently co-stars in CBS' The New Adventures of Old Christine.
TBS cable recently announced its first entry into the late night talk/comedy mix, with George Lopez taking the reins of a weeknight 10 p.m. show scheduled to launch in November.
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