It is the end of an era. After 13 seasons, The Wendy Williams Show will close the curtains on the wildly popular talk show.
Wendy Williams, who has struggled with health and addiction issues, has been on hiatus from the show since July 2021. Wendy has other problems too. Most recently Wells Fargo froze her bank accounts after expressing fears that the talk show host may be a victim of exploitation.
Guest hosts, including former The View host Sherri Shepherd, have filled in for the shock jockette during her absence.
Shepherd will reportedly take over the time slot in Fall 2022.
The Wendy Williams Show is ending after 13 seasons
The shock-jockette started as a radio jockey, dishing gossip on the popular radio show, The Wendy Williams Experience. The radio show transformed into an Emmy Award winning talk show where Wendy interviewed celebrities and discussed Hollywood rumors.
Wendy, who suffers from Graves disease, has had numerous absences from her show in the past few years. The last hiatus, lasting since July 2021, has fans asking, “Where is Wendy?”
Now sources confirm that The Wendy Williams Show will come to an end this year, after 13 successful seasons.
The status of the Wendy Williams Show was previously up in the air. Recent reports alleged that the gossip queen would not return to her show until at least March.
During the month of February, guest hosts took over, including Michael Rapaport, Fat Joe & Remy Ma, Bevy Smith, Terrence J, and Sherri Shepherd.
Shepherd was reportedly a fan and production favorite to replace Wendy.
Sherri Shepherd will take over with a new talk show
Sherri Shepherd will embark on a daytime talk show voyage in fall 2022. The new series, called Sherri, will occupy the time slot of The Wendy Williams Show on Fox.
Sherri is a production by Lionsgate’s Debmar-Mercury, the same company that produces The Wendy Williams Show.
Debmar-Mercury Co-Presidents Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein released a statement, “Sherri is a natural who proved her hosting skills for many years as a panelist on The View, on Fox’s Dish Nation and again this season as a popular guest host of Wendy.”
The executives continued, “Like our viewers, we have been impressed by the unique comedic twist Sherri puts on our daily live ‘Hot Topics’ segment, her creativity, and interactions with our guests. Her love for the content and daytime fans is obvious, and we are excited to partner with her to create another long-term talk franchise.”
Variety reports that many staffers will come to work on the new Sherri talk show, including the executive producer.