(CNN) -- The annals of late-night television talk shows are full of failure.





George Lopez says he believes late-night talk is ready for more diversity.





Joey Bishop, Dick Cavett and Pat Sajak all tried to challenge the legendary Johnny Carson's supremacy; all fell short. Joan Rivers lasted less than eight months as host of a Fox show; Chevy Chase lasted less than eight weeks on his Fox entry.





Even in recent years, when late-night shows are all over cable, few make a dent in the ratings or in the public consciousness.





So does comedian and former sitcom star George Lopez believe he can overcome those challenges and put on a talk show people will talk about?





To paraphrase a slogan Lopez heard plenty last year, when he traveled the campaign trail as one of Barack Obama's supporters: yes ... he ... does.





"I believe that that audience is more diverse, less represented than it's ever been," he said in a phone interview, noting that -- though it's been 20 years since the African-American performer Arsenio Hall launched his late-night show -- late night remains the preserve of generally white male comedians.





"It's not even about black and white anymore, because so many people are from mixed backgrounds and mixed ethnicities, and it's just a great time to be able to pull all that together."





Lopez, whose show will air on TBS beginning in November, is no stranger to talk shows. He was on Johnny Carson's "Tonight" show, and he admires David Letterman and Bill Maher, among others. But he thinks a Lopez show will bring some fresh energy to late night. (TBS, like CNN, is a unit of Time Warner.)





The comedian says he already has big plans to make his show distinctive, from its more open setting to Lopez's determination to make the audience a key part of the show. He talked about some of his hopes with CNN last week. The following is an edited version of that interview:





CNN: So I see you're doing a late-night talk show.





George Lopez: Yes, brother. Change has come to the White House, change has come to late night!





CNN: How did this come about?





Lopez: Well ... when I was doing "The George Lopez Show" -- probably into like the 30th episode, [and] we ended up doing 120 shows, [a production company executive] said, "Hey, would you consider a talk show?" And I'm like, "Dude, I got a gig."





He said, "It's not going to last forever. When it's over ... [So] let me put this bug in your ear, five years early."





I kinda never considered it, although ... I've been on every show. And what's appealing to me now ... is that I believe that that audience is more diverse, less represented than it's ever been. ...





I can take a little more liberties than if this show were on network TV, where everybody's afraid to say something wrong because you might piss off an advertiser. [And] I believe the fact that a Mexican-American guy hosting his own late-night talk show is appealing to advertisers. I look at that as a positive.





Look, Anderson Cooper is at the Mexican border -- I wish my show were on tonight so I could talk about it.





CNN: Does it intimidate you getting a late-night talk show? Lord knows there have been a zillion late-night talk shows, and many of them end up in TV graveyards.





Lopez: I think it goes case by case, Todd. I mean, Chevy Chase probably wasn't the right person for that format ...





I think the visibility of my [sitcom] and the success and popularity of my standup, and being a little edgier and a little different and not milquetoast by any means and not Anglo white male, and being unafraid and seeing the
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