Long before becoming America’s favorite game show host and the king of afternoon talk shows, Steve Harvey was an in-demand comic. The future king of comedy had a hit show on the WB network for five successful seasons with The Steve Harvey Show. 

Harvey starred as Steve Hightower, a Chicago public school music teacher who uses tough love and comedy to get through to his silly students. But before the show took off, he got his shot at starring in another show that didn’t have the same magic.

Harvey starred in Me And The Boys as a widowed father of three sons who runs a video store in Dallas. The show was canceled after just one season, leaving Harvey crushed.

According to Get TV, Harvey was bummed because he liked the message of the show, telling the LA Times in a 1995 interview, “What I’m most upset about is what the show stood for. It killed a lot of stereotypes.”

But he didn’t give up. After the cancellation of Me And The Boys, Harvey and his producing team approached writer and producer Winifred Hervey (The Cosby Show, The Fresh Prince) to develop a new show. She wasn’t initially on board. She told the TV Academy in 2013 (as reported by Get TV): “I didn’t really feel like (Steve) was quite my cup of tea. But when I sat down with him, I sort of got him, and that’s when I came up with the concept.”

They then partnered with executive producer Stan Lathan and The Steve Harvey Show was born.  Fans were saddened after the show went off the air following the fifth season.

As it turns out, the show was not canceled. Harvey was just ready to move on and pursue new endeavors. He agreed to a final season of 13 episodes. The last season of The Steve Harvey Show scored higher ratings than the previous two, which was unheard of at the time.