The Arsenio Hall Show Returns After 19 Years: ‘Back Is Beautiful’

Arsenio last appeared as a late night TV host back in 1994 in The Arsenio Hall Show which ran for five years. Now Arsenio is back and as he said himself, regarding his return to late night TV, “back is beautiful.”

The first installment of the revived show aired on Monday night. In the show Paula Abdul, Snoop Dogg and Chris Tucker were present to help Arsenio kick off his return after 19 years.

The statistics say that viewers loved the first show and that it outranked Arsenio’s late night competitors including Jimmy Kimmel and The Late Show. But that’s not such good news, as it finished way behind some other late night broadcasts.

Arsenio, now aged 57, looks no older than he did all those years ago; full of vitality and high energy, and with his usual humorous manner.

It must be remembered that back in 1989 Arsenio was the only African-American TV host, a reality that has changed in the last two decades. According to most opinions, he is going to have to pull something special in his shows to stand out from the crowd.

The pilot show had Arsenio reminiscing about the past, and not looking to the future. He did a skit about how times had changed, as he whipped out a old cellphone from the 90’s which he called his “dumb phone.”

It remains to be seen what inspiration The all-new Arsenio Hall Show will bring to late night viewers as it tries to compete on late night television with a host of new presenters.

Did you see the show the Arsenio Hall Show aired on Monday? What did you think of it? And do you think Hall will enjoy the same success as he did 19 years ago? Share your comments in the feed below.