Telecinco Cancels 'Caiga quien caiga' for 'Supervivientes'

Telecinco cancels 'Caiga quien caiga' after its return to the schedule

Telecinco has decided that 'Caiga quien caiga' will stop airing next March 2. The slot left by the program will be taken over by the Sunday gala of 'Supervivientes'. The news, first reported by ABC, closes a relaunch that barely lasted a few weeks and was born with the suspicion among much of the audience that the format no longer fit either the channel or the current moment.

The return of the format, hosted by Santi Millán and accompanied by a team of collaborators, faced a very specific reading from the first episode: the political humor of the original had become something else. The cancellation is no surprise for those who trinc the launch. The show bids farewell before establishing itself, leaving the channel with a Sunday to fill.

What was 'Caiga quien caiga' and why does it return now?

The format is of Argentine origin and in Spain had its golden age in the 90s, with a journalistic ethics section remembered as unique. That version aired in a different political context, with the PP in government, and its charm lay in embarrassing power figures with a camera in hand. Different times, say those who lived through the original.

The relaunch attempted to recover that spirit with a renewed staging. The hosts appeared dressed with a 'men in black' vibe and humor that, according to various readings, always pointed in the same direction. The first episode already made the tone clear: a joke about the far right served as an introduction. From there, the audience began to split between those asking for patience and those declaring the format dead before the second broadcast.

The comparison with the original is inevitable and, for many, devastating. The 90s 'Caiga quien caiga' has nothing to do with this one, neither in team nor in context. The journalistic ethics section, where reporters chased politicians and businesspeople with uncomfortable questions, has been left without a clear successor.

The problem of political humor when your own side governs

The most repeated criticism of the show is not about form, but substance. A space presented as anti-establishment, rebellious, and incisive loses meaning when the established power is the one you defend. This contradiction, persistently highlighted, explains why the format failed to connect with part of the audience that enjoyed the original.

Some argue that humor only works when it targets the powerful, and that when it merely supports the official discourse it becomes shameful. On the other side, the response is simpler: the show was trash from the start, then and now. Between these extremes, a more nuanced view acknowledges that the format had good moments, but that the evolution of its star host—from scourge of power to defender of the government—has emptied it of wit.

The result is a product that pleases no one. Even the most sympathetic viewers don't watch it, according to harsher readings, nor do those seeking real opposition find what it promises. The Spanish TV schedule accumulates years of shows born with the vocation to embarrass and ending up as propaganda for one side or the other.

The schedule as thermometer: who survives and who falls

The cancellation of 'Caiga quien caiga' is also read as a reckoning within the channel itself. Telecinco prefers a 'Supervivientes' gala, a pure entertainment format, over a space that generates controversy and doesn't guarantee ratings. The decision is cold: if the show doesn't perform, it gets replaced.

The underlying debate is whether there is room for political humor that isn't trench warfare. The most critical sector answers no, arguing that the public perfectly distinguishes between laughing at power and laughing with power. And that distinction, once blurry, is now obvious to anyone turning on the TV.

There remains the consolation of nostalgics: recovering the original 'Caiga quien caiga', with its team and context, is impossible. The journalistic ethics section won't return because the ecosystem that made it possible—media, politicians, and audience—no longer exists. What remains is a format that fades out on March 2, a Sunday filled with 'Supervivientes', and the feeling that generalist TV continues to search for its place without finding it.