Johnny de Mol saw his TV dream, his own daily talk show, go up in smoke this year: HLF8 was taken off the air after a long attempt. How does he look back on this year 2023?
It was always a great wish for Johnny de Mol: to present his own talk show. Luckily, his dad has four TV channels, so that was a breeze. But unfortunately, HLF8 did not captivate enough viewers to continue with it. The talk show said goodbye to the SBS 6 viewers in April and even the final was not a hit with 386 thousand viewers.
Too few viewers
More than six months later, how does Johnny view the termination of HLF8? “I closed that up for myself quite quickly. When I returned, I only did Fridays. That was nice, because it meant I could be there before the end. But if you’re completely honest: it just wasn’t good enough. At least, it didn’t score well enough,” he says LINDA.nl.
He continues: “It wasn’t a cheap program, such a live venture. And I can come up with plenty of reasons why it didn’t work, but that’s not how I work. So I just have to look at myself and conclude that it should have been better and that we attracted too few viewers.”
Bad feelings
Johnny didn’t have any bad feelings about it. “I am one experience richer, but no illusions poorer, that is for sure. The rules simply also apply to the boss’s son, that if it is not good enough, you have to look another door.”
You just keep going, says the presenter. He is now on the channel with Ranking the Talent. “I quickly came to terms with it, and in the meantime I am busy with other things and I am now sinking my teeth into that.”
No receipt
Stopping HLF8 has not led to friction with his father John de Mol. They work closely together on that talent show. “There are two recordings in one day. Then the celebrities come in for the panel and he sits down with them every time. Full of love, energy and patience, he explains the rules of the game to them, tries to motivate them and gives them tips.”
He concludes: “Yes, I think that’s really great. This is what he likes to do most. (…) I bow deeply to that. I think that is not said enough. Although I am of course a bit biased in this opinion.”