diff --git a/lib/codereview/codereview.py b/lib/codereview/codereview.py
index b4b085fc71e..e8c84abec29 100644
--- a/lib/codereview/codereview.py
+++ b/lib/codereview/codereview.py
@@ -471,7 +471,7 @@ def LoadCL(ui, repo, name, web=True):
 	set_status("loaded CL " + name)
 	return cl, ''
 
-global_status = ""
+global_status = None
 
 def set_status(s):
 	# print >>sys.stderr, "\t", time.asctime(), s