“Larry’s Country Diner” Ceases Production of New Episodes
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This story has been updated.
Beloved RFD-TV country music television show Larry’s Country Diner is not going off the air. But it will not longer be producing new episodes, or at least that appears to be the case for the moment. After 14 seasons and 363 episodes, the latest season ended by airing two special tributes to the show on November 10th and November 17th. Now the many fans of the show are remembering the many artists and performances they enjoyed, and perhaps hoping for a return at some point.
After rumors swirled that the show was going away entirely, Larry Black recently posted a video saying, “I need to clear up a misconception. There is this rumor out there that the show has ended. Well, it’s ended, but it hasn’t ended. We have 363 shows, and for the next Lord knows how many years, we will continue to do ‘Larry’s Country Diner’ right here same time every week, same station. Don’t go away, we’re still here.”
Set in a diner setting, Larry’s Country Diner has featured legendary country artists such as Bill Anderson, Gene Watson, Larry Gatlin, Rhonda Vincent, and T.G. Sheppard. Artist perform multiple songs, and are interviewed by long-time DJ Larry Black from the diner counter with a dish rag slung over his shoulder. Larry Black was also the owner of the show. The RFD-TV program also became an important outlet for up-and-coming artists with a more traditional country sound such as Mo Pitney, The Church Sisters, The Malpass Brothers, and more.
Larry’s Country Diner features a recurring cast, including announcer Keith Bilbrey, the Church Lady Nadine, Renae “The Waitress” Johnson, and for many years, guitarist Jimmy Capps, or “The Man in Back,” who was a member of the Grand Ole Opry’s house band, and passed away in 2020. Jimmy played “The Sheriff” on Larry’s Country Diner, and performed with the musical guests.
The show had filmed from numerous locations over the years. Though plans were hatched to launch an actual diner based around the show in 2015 where the show would also air, they were put on hold after Larry was injured in an ATV accident, and the project became too expensive. Most recently the show was taping at the CabaRay theater in Nashville owned by Ray Stevens, and at Roy Feek’s production studio in Columbia, TN. Ray Stevens was the official final performer on the show when the last original episode aired on October 27th.
Though the show will no longer be producing new episodes at the moment, they have begun uploading many of the old performances from the show onto YouTube—something the production had only done in a limited capacity previously. This has made Larry’s Country Diner accessible to a new generation of viewers, and to those without access to cable. The YouTube activity had helped stimulate renewed interest in the show.
Saving Country Music has reached out to RFD-TV for more information about future plans for Larry’s Country Diner, but they did not return emails. Full episodes are available to stream via a subscription to Country Road on larryscountrydiner.com.
November 30, 2022 @ 10:36 am
What they need to do is bring back I-40 Paradise.
December 1, 2022 @ 2:08 pm
Lord knows Lionel Cartwright needs the work.
November 30, 2022 @ 11:08 am
Daryle Singletary’s performance if I Never Go Around Mirrors on the show is one of my favorite performances ever. On a related note, I think we’re due for another Country Family Reunion, maybe a Loretta Lynn tribute or something like that.
November 30, 2022 @ 11:53 am
I was just about to say the exact same thing about Daryle Singletary’s performance
November 30, 2022 @ 1:00 pm
Good one. Just added it up top. Some of the performances on Larry’s Country Diner could be considered definitive versions of songs. Since they never used drums, it always gave them a more intimate feel. RIP Daryl.
November 30, 2022 @ 1:26 pm
… And Mike Johnson on pedal steel behind Daryle!
November 30, 2022 @ 6:15 pm
Good Lord is that fantastic! Is it the song? I mean in regular rotation I have currently renditions by:
Legends:
Lefty
Merle
Willie
Whitley’s remake version:
Keith Whitley
Mark Chestnut
(and now) Daryle Singletary
All are outstanding.
November 30, 2022 @ 12:07 pm
Larry’s Country Diner and Country Family Reunion are releasing some excellent singles on streaming services.
November 30, 2022 @ 1:44 pm
Trigger, do you think something’s going on with RFD’s music programming? I have RFD on Roku, $10 a month. Circle dwarfs RFD but no app. Thanks!
November 30, 2022 @ 1:57 pm
I’m not really sure. I reached out to them last week and again this week trying to get information and never heard back. There may not even be anyone manning the switchboard. With the internet, a lot of these cable channels are struggling. What makes these music shows extra hard to put together is you have to do clear rights for all the songs performed. It makes it harder than you would expect it to be.
December 2, 2022 @ 9:49 am
Another link to the. Past gone! How sad! In
November 30, 2022 @ 1:10 pm
I’ve never had this channel available in my cable packages but back when my mom was still alive she had this channel and I used to watch it with her. I never saw this show though. She watched Marty Stuart and ray Stevens. Seems like the kind of show she would have liked, maybe just days I was there didn’t match up. I miss shows like this and hee haw. Kind of shows that really shouldn’t end, they always have an audience.
December 24, 2022 @ 10:54 am
We love the show and hope it returns truly the greatest entertainers and performers of a life time
November 30, 2022 @ 1:17 pm
And props to Ben Hall, the guitarist who came onboard after Jimmy Capps’ passing. An absolute monster on his instrument, Ben is the real deal – a stunningly versatile player.
April 29, 2023 @ 9:15 pm
I couldn’t have said it any better. I really do hope they will start filming this program again. There are so few programs today with this variety of entertainment and great performers. I never get tired of listening to any of them and good country music. I am enjoying the old re-runs’s because I have missed some of the programs. I will continue to watch them and hope for new episodes again.
November 30, 2022 @ 2:50 pm
Does Larry not understand what “reruns” are?
Sure the show is done but the reruns will last forever. That’s how TV/syndication works
November 30, 2022 @ 6:31 pm
Michele Voan Capps was a big part of the show also.
December 1, 2022 @ 4:00 am
Love this show. John Berry my cousin was on there. TOMMY Duncan
August 17, 2023 @ 7:23 pm
Michele Capps is one of the main reasons I watch the show.
November 30, 2022 @ 7:09 pm
@CJE–Unfortunately, the older artists who populated the fairly recent Country Family Reunion shows that are seen on Youtube have (almost all) died. Jimmy Dickens, for sure, and Jim Ed Brown, Jack Greene, Billy Walker, Charlie Walker, Jean Shepard, Jan Howard–and even more recent artists like Johnny Bush, B.J. Thomas, Johnny Russell.
If they want to do a Loretta Lynn tribute, more power to them, but it would consist of Bill Anderson sitting there and emcee’ing among Janie Fricke, John Conley, Gene Watson, Lorrie Morgan, Neil McCoy, and, of course, T. Graham Brown.
Maybe if they could get Rosanne Cash and Pam Tillis and Kathy Mattea and Patty Loveless and Sara Evans. They’re not really associated with Loretta, but at least they’re successful women artists who tried to follow in her footsteps.
December 1, 2022 @ 7:49 pm
Patty Loveless is actually a distant cousin of Loretta
November 30, 2022 @ 7:55 pm
OK. I’ve been wrong before. (I once told someone I was wrong when, in fact, I’d been right). Trigger says that LCD was filming at Ray Stevens’ place when the program ended. I remember when LCD taped at the CabaRay several years ago, but that was on an elevated stage with the audience seated at tables down below the stage. That does not seem to me to be the same setup for many months now. I think the most recent shows (last 18 months at least) have been from Feek’s place in Columbia, TN. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
November 30, 2022 @ 8:21 pm
You’re right. I thought they were still filming at CabaRay, but had built them a proper set. I’m seeing now that yes, they moved the production to Rory Feek’s place for the final shows. Thanks for the heads up.
November 30, 2022 @ 8:28 pm
Can I tell my wife that someone finally acknowledged that I am right?
December 1, 2022 @ 8:06 pm
Trigger, unless these were just live shows, it appears the most recent episodes were filmed in early October 2022 in Branson. It’s a shame to see the show supposedly ending, but they could always come back for more.
https://bookbransontickets.com/branson-shows/larry-s-country-diner-3052
https://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/ShowUserReviews-g44160-d1146604-r863310256-Clay_Cooper_Theatre-Branson_Missouri.html
December 1, 2022 @ 8:29 pm
Hmm. They either were just live shows, or tapings for shows that haven’t aired yet. The episodes for Season 14 were definitely filmed at Rory Feek’s RedKing Studios in Columbia, TN, and they don’t line up with those guests. Perhaps there are five shows still out there to air. Perhaps they were trying out a new location that ultimately didn’t work. I really don’t know, but they finished up the last season with two tribute shows that seemed to denote the end. I guess we’ll just have to see if those Branson shows appear at some point.
I have reached out to numerous folks trying to get more info about what’s going on, and nobody has gotten back with me. There might be either some bad blood or some uncertainty behind-the-scenes to the future, so everyone is tight lipped at the moment.
December 3, 2022 @ 2:25 pm
Maybe we’ll have the mystery solved soon. It is notable that the Malpass Brothers were the guests on the last day of the Branson shows and were also in the closing segment of the 363 episode retrospective.
November 30, 2022 @ 10:14 pm
Larry’s Country Diner had some good music but the whole concept was jus too corny.
December 1, 2022 @ 2:10 pm
Hee Haw ran for how many years?
December 1, 2022 @ 3:30 pm
Two years original CBS and then twenty two years in syndication. However it benefited from having Roy Clarke and George “Goober Pyle” Lyndsey.
August 5, 2023 @ 1:44 am
I don’t think that the diner was a corny idea at at all..In fact it was a brilliant concept.
I live in a city of less than 1000 ,most citizens in their 60″s , 90% White so LCD wasn’t really so much a fantasy…
May 1, 2023 @ 8:49 pm
I think there are plenty of people who enjoyed the homespun humor as a throwback to the family TV of old. Sure it’s corny, but it’s clean. The whole family could watch it. I hope the show is not finished. Larry seemed to be a little “off” on the last few episodes. I pray that he and the cast are doing well. We need something like this on TV today.
December 3, 2022 @ 11:44 am
I agree with the comments that we need a reunion show or more. I happened to have my recording on for the last : shows of the diner show and thoroughly enjoyed them. They were so good and love country music
December 10, 2022 @ 8:50 pm
I read somewhere that Great American Living channel was going to provide reruns for Larry’s Country Diner but that may have been just a rumor.
January 7, 2023 @ 10:13 pm
Loved watching the show when it first aired. Loved Nadine sh ed is a hoot. Didn’t have to worry about x rated language nice entertaining show. It will be missed.
January 21, 2023 @ 10:15 pm
It seems these days any program that is decent and entertaining is taken off the air. I wish Larry’s would come back on. I am still watching reruns. I would be happy to see more of the music shows that came on in late 50s thru 60s.
February 5, 2023 @ 12:59 pm
Loved the show. Nadine was great and the music was top notch
March 2, 2023 @ 7:03 pm
Mr. Black you are sure going to be missed and all of the people on your weekly show !! Exclamation for that Chicken Man !!!!! All the crew from Boot Daddy,and Cavenders!!!Tarter USA and the Beautiful Ann Tarter !! Nadine so much fun to watch !!! The show will really be missed in my home !!!!
April 16, 2023 @ 4:41 pm
There are plenty of country artists out there that are from 30-70 still alive and plenty of us younger folks that love country music! Back in the day Ralph Emery did the same thing Larry does.
May 1, 2023 @ 9:55 pm
Ralph wasn’t quite as corny, shot gun Red was a lovable fixture on Ralph’s Show but some of the antics on Larry’s Country Dinner were ridiculous. Ralph had a lot of knowledge and talent I can’t say the same about Larry.
January 15, 2024 @ 10:04 pm
Larry was the worst part of the show
May 18, 2023 @ 7:59 am
We enjoyed the show a lot. Mr. Black you are great as well everyone else. Will certainly miss “Chicken Man!!!” , Nadine, Renee, Keith and all the stars who come to play. Y’all make a great show to watch. Please continue if at all possible! We love ya.
June 9, 2023 @ 3:48 am
According to what I read the show was canceled due to the fact that after the ATV accident involving Larry, the project (Larry’s Country Diner)became too expensive to continue… This doesn’t make a whole lot of sense and it makes me wonder if Larry’s health is suffering to the point that the show was out of the question and so it was axed.. I’m anxious to hear what Larry’s current health status is and if indeed it’s the reason that the show was canceled… This is was of the few TV shows did I actually thoroughly enjoyed and the cast began to feel like family in an odd way.. regardless of the reason it was canceled, I hope it returns with new episodes featuring of course, Larry Black.
August 2, 2023 @ 12:01 pm
I sure hope Larry’s doing ok and that his health is good? I loved the show with the good clean humor, and the great country music! You don’t have many good shows to watch on tv like this anymore. I had a friend up in Maine that had a country music band, and he looked and sounded so much like Larry that they could have been twins, his name was Hank Hughes, he passed away about 12 years ago and he was a really great guy too. God bless and hope to see you back on the air Larry!
December 3, 2023 @ 2:32 pm
Love seeing Nadine!!!
December 28, 2023 @ 6:54 pm
I love your show! I’m a nurse at the VA and don’t get home till 8:20 pm but I catch the last 40 minutes. I’m not even a huge country music fan but your show brings balance to my stressful work day. I pray that Mr. Larry is doing better. Thank you for helping me stay grounded!
December 31, 2023 @ 10:01 am
Is Nadine (Mona Brown) still performing?
January 13, 2024 @ 6:29 am
Where can I find the show ??
January 13, 2024 @ 6:30 am
Where can I find the show ??
Any DVD’s available ??
January 28, 2024 @ 11:16 am
Is Nadine still alive?