It’s been an impressive eight year run over 14 seasons, but VH1 Classic has declined to renew That Metal Show. Host Eddie Trunk and co-hosts Don Jamieson and Jim Florentine made the announcement concurrently at Noon via their social media. The show was VH1 Classic’s longest-running program, and no reason was given for their decision to cancel it. Thankfully for the trio and the brand, VH1 is allowing them to shop it elsewhere. Here’s their message:
A message to the loyal fans of That Metal Show from Eddie, Jim & Don:
We are sorry to report that VH1 Classic will not continue to make any new episodes of That Metal Show. It has been an incredible run of eight years, roughly 125 episodes and some really cool specials. The global response to TMS has been simply amazing, and we will be eternally grateful for the support from the rock and metal fans that have showed us so much love. We truly would have never made it as long as we did without you! A huge thanks also to the great crews we had over the years both in NYC and Los Angeles, to our producer Jeff Baumgardner, and to all the executives at VH1. And finally, thanks to the hundreds of artists that joined us on our set, had fun with us, shared their stories and many, many laughs. From the biggest names in rock history, to the up-and-comers: we thank you all for being a part of it.
Of course we very much want to keep That Metal Show alive, and with the blessing of VH1 Classic, we’ve got the keys to the show and are currently searching for a new home. We’re not sure where we’ll land, but we hope to be back in our studio and your living rooms as soon as possible. In the meantime, keep an eye out for us on the road and come say, “Hello.”
Thank you for watching all these years, and we’ll keep you posted as soon as we have news to share.
While That Metal Show has (rightfully) taken a lot of crap for it’s myopic view of what’s considered metal (aka, very little after 1990), it was still an entertaining show that brought hard rock and heavy metal to a mass audience. It’s not like it broke any new bands, because that’s not what it was about. It did, however, give members of bands like Metallica, Slayer, and Motley Crue a chance to stop by and talk about what they were up to. It’s not a given that another cable network will pick it up, but it’s a relatively inexpensive show that could bring an older demographic to any male-targeted network, and it has an established audience, so time will tell. Regardless, Trunk is on SiriusXM’s Hair Nation show, and Florentine and Jamieson have their stand-up and acting careers, so they’ll do fine.
