Hall had his first break in late-night television when he became a guest host on FOX’s The Late Show with Joan Rivers. After Rivers departed in May 1987, the show had a rotating series of guest hosts, including Hall. After fronting the show for several nights, Hall was invited to stay for 13 weeks. That time permitted Hall to develop as a talk show host while solidifying his position as a well-known popular entertainer. Although both Hall and the show were doing moderately well, FOX decided to cancel The Late Show, replacing it with The Wilton North Report. During that time, when Hall was without a regular television job, Paramount approached him with a multi-film deal, a deal eventually renegotiated to include a talk show. Yet Hall was still under contract with FOX. In order to prevent a legal suit against both Hall and Paramount, FOX affiliates were used as the main venue for Hall’s talk show.

The format of The Arsenio Hall Show followed traditional structures set by other late-night talk shows: entrance and rapport with the band (known on Hall’s program as “the posse”) and the studio audience, the host’s initial monologue at the center of the stage, interviews with guests (usually two to three) in the sitting area, and a musical number by an invited artist. Hall nevertheless brought some changes (sometimes quite subtle), in order to provide a more informal mood for his show. There was no desk in the sitting area where interviews were conducted, so he could be closer to his guests. Hall did not have a sidekick on the show. The set had an area at the stage left of the band designated as the “dog pound” where a group of guests would sit and cheer Hall with barks (“Woof,” “Woof,” “Woof!”) while moving their right fists in circles above their heads. These more informal elements of the show were attuned to Hall’s agenda of providing an alternative kind of entertainment to the traditional late-night scene.

From the outset, The Arsenio Hall Show distinguished itself by targeting audiences that have been largely ignored by other late-night talk shows: urban African Americans and Latinos as well as younger viewers whom he identified on several occasions as the “MTV generation.” Hall reached these audiences through a hip and casual approach to the show, strongly informed by his talent as a stand-up comedian as well as by tales of his childhood experiences in a Cleveland, Ohio, lower-middle-class community. In fact, Hall constantly invoked stories about being someone who left the ghetto for another type of life but who was still emotionally and politically connected to it. The strategy kept his television persona grounded at a level closer to urban audiences.

Another technique Hall used to reach a multiethnic younger audience was showcasing a wide variety of artists, comedians, and performers who were less mainstream and thus not usually invited to participate on other talk shows (for example, Dea DeLaria, Tupac Shakur, Snoop Doggy Dog). In terms of entertainment, some of The Arsenio Hall Show’s highlights included a whole night dedicated exclusively to musical performances by the reclusive artist Prince, a surprise visit in 1992 by presidential candidate Bill Clinton (who performed two songs on the saxophone), and the taping of the series’ 1,000th show at the Hollywood Bowl, starring Madonna.

Although entertainment was a priority for Hall, he also conceived of his show as a space where audiences, especially youth, could be educated. For example, he had a special show with Jesse Jackson as well as a night dedicated to commemorating Martin Luther King Jr. Furthermore, Hall became a spokesperson for safer sex/AIDS awareness, mainly owing to his close friendship with basketball star Magic Johnson, who chose The Arsenio Hall Show as the venue for his first public discussion about AIDS after announcing that he was HIV positive.

The Arsenio Hall Show also had its moments of controversy. Twice, for example, Hall invited the infamous comedian Andrew Dice Clay, notorious for his sexist, racist, and homophobic jokes. On the second visit, members of the gay- and lesbian-rights groups Queer Nation and ACT UP showed up on the program in order to voice their disapproval of the guest as well as of Hall for having him. These organizations had already confronted Hall during an earlier show, both for not having gay or lesbian guests and for ridiculing homosexuals through one of his recurring impersonations. The visit of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakahn created another controversial moment for the show, and Hall was severely criticized for not being aggressive in his interview. More generally, Hall’s laudatory attitude toward most of his guests was constantly criticized by the popular press.

The Arsenio Hall Show can be regarded as an example of a syndicated show that was able to succeed temporarily by targeting an audience largely ignored by other late-night shows, the nonwhite, urban multi-ethnic youth. In fact, in its most popular days, The Arsenio Hall Show was able to rank second in the late-night rating race, just behind The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.