Queen Latifah's talk show is a goner

The Queen has been dethroned, again.

The Queen Latifah Show has been axed by Sony Pictures Television, thanks to low ratings and high costs. Production will shut down at year end, though original episodes will continue airing through March.

It's extremely rare, though not unprecedented, for a syndicated talk show to be canceled in the middle of a TV season, because local stations sign contracts to pay for an entire year's worth of episodes. But the show is averaging 1.4 million viewers, down 9% from last season, and among women ages 18 to 49, the core daytime audience, it ranks last among all talk shows, tied with The Doctors.Latifah airs on CBS-owned stations in many major markets.

In a statement, Sony spokeswoman Paula Askanas, referring to Latifah's real name, Dana Owens, said: "We want to thank Dana, the producers and the entire staff of The Queen Latifah Show for creating a program that we are all very proud of. "

This marks the second go-round for Latifah, who had another daytime talk show that ran for two seasons, from 1999 to 2001. But Owens, a former rapper, has had many TV and movie acting roles.