Kellie Pickler And Her Late Husband Kyle's Reality Show Didn't Last Long
Kellie Pickler and her late husband, Kyle Jacobs, starred on "I Love Kellie Pickler," which aired on CMT for three seasons before it was canceled in 2017. The show followed the spouses as they nurtured their romance while working on their respective careers in music — Pickler as a singer and Jacobs as a songwriter. "It's lighthearted and funny and silly," said Pickler to Rolling Stone. "These are short, 30-minute episodes, so it's not anything dramatic or serious. We just wanted to capture who we are when we clock out of work. It's about us — not what we do for our profession, but what we do at home with our friends."
While speaking with Billboard, Pickler revealed that their show wouldn't revolve around drama and negativity. "For us, we wanted to make sure the show was something that people could watch and feel good about themselves," she told the outlet in 2015. "There's so much negativity out there, and we just wanted to be a bright light out into the world."
"I Love Kellie Pickler" turned into an instant success. According to Deadline, the show shattered CMT's ratings record by claiming their largest adult audience since 2012. Over the next few years, Pickler and Jacobs would endear fans with their open affection and endless jokes about each other. Unfortunately, "I Love Kellie Pickler" didn't survive past Season 3.
Did Kellie Pickler's talk show take precedence?
There's been no shortage of reality TV offerings, although most end up being a flash in the pan without any lasting impact. Given its ratings, it's clear that "I Love Kellie Pickler" didn't fit into this category, so why wasn't it renewed for a fourth season? Unfortunately, CMT never revealed the reason for not investing in more of the beloved reality show. In fact, the network didn't even announce a cancellation at all. The show's last press release, which came in July of 2017, marked the debut of Season 3. Two months later, CMT announced in a new press release that it would start re-airing episodes of Pickler's new talk show, "Pickler & Ben." Then the reality show kind of disappeared.
We may not be privy to why the reality show ended, but Pickler could have encountered some scheduling conflicts. While both projects were announced at the end of 2015, it took almost two years for "Pickler & Ben" to make its 2017 debut. Meanwhile, the reality show premiered in under a year. Most talk shows clock in at one hour, but hosts often shoot multiple episodes in a day unless they broadcast live. Add dress rehearsals, prep time, and meetings, and Pickler's schedule could've become overwhelming. Therefore, it's very possible that Pickler may have prioritized her talk show instead of trying to shoot both concurrently. After all, Pickler was still fully invested in her music career, too.
How Kellie and Kyle felt about reality television
Everything isn't for everybody, so it's also possible that Kellie Pickler and Kyle Jacobs just weren't fans of being reality TV stars. But that doesn't track with their past interviews. Although it took her a decade to agree to document her life, Pickler eventually fell in love with the process. "I was approached after 'American Idol' to do a show around me, but it just took me about 10 years to work up the courage to go and do it," Pickler shared with Billboard.
However, she was eventually excited to open up her life to the public. "It's exciting to let people into that part of our world," she explained during an interview with Rolling Stone. "People know a little of my story, but they don't know all of it."
Jacobs also had a good experience while filming the show. In fact, he knew that he wanted to be part of the project before Pickler did. "He was more onboard before I was — which was surprising, because he's so used to working behind the curtain with his writing and producing," Pickler shared with Billboard. "We really kind of looked at it — after talking and praying about it — as an opportunity to try something new and build our brand and make people laugh." She went on to add, "We love television and film and wanted to be a part of a positive show. That was the agreement: a comedy that was a fun, light-hearted show that people could watch in 30 minutes and smile."