TCA: Arsenio Hall Ready For Talk Show Comeback

Ray Richmond is contributing to Deadline's coverage of TCA. Arsenio Hall seems to figure that a 17-year rest is long enough. Having quit his iconic late-night talk show in 1994, Hall was asked this afternoon during a PBS panel at TCA on an Ed Sullivan Comedy Special premiering Aug. 6 if he'd consider making a comeback. "I'd have to change my name to Nick Cannon and live with Mariah (Carey)," he joked. "But I think it's a perfect time for that personally. Give me a microphone. My son's 11 and he can drive himself to school. I'm ready to host!" When a critic pressed if he was serious, Hall acknowledged, "It's pretty crowded out there. I'm not sure if it's too crowded for a 55-year-old guy to reemerge, but if they give me a little daylight I'm gonna slide into it."