Ellen, Maury and Dr. Oz are out — but the sun hasn't gone down on daytime TV
CBC
As Ellen DeGeneres hosted the final episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show in May, she shared how the series — a 19-season juggernaut of bum-shaking, prize-giving and celebrity-scaring — first came to air.
"Twenty-five years ago, they cancelled my sitcom because they didn't want a lesbian to be in prime time once a week. And I said, 'OK, then I'll be on daytime every day,'" DeGeneres said.
The ending was bittersweet. DeGeneres's reputation as a fun-loving do-gooder had been questioned in the wake of accusations by former employees that her producers enabled a toxic work environment on set.
A sea of change has hit the daytime format this year as a slew of veteran hosts call it a day. As audiences flock from broadcast to streaming, the format has not seen such a shakeup since Oprah left her mantle as the queen of daytime in 2011.
Last week, the belovedly offbeat Wendy Williams Show ended on a modest note — 12 seasons later — without Williams herself present. In fact, the series had been a revolving door of guest hosts since July 2021, when the former shock jock took a health-related hiatus.
Come fall, her daytime slot will be occupied by former The View co-anchor and actress Sherri Shepherd, who frequently filled in for Williams while she was on leave.
While Williams never hit Ellen-levels of popularity, she and her show were lauded and occasionally criticized for their unfiltered nature. In recent years, Williams became a popular Internet meme, with TikTok users compiling highlights and best moments.
"People think [the] talk [genre] is so easy. They think they just sit down and they can host a talk show. It's incredibly nuanced," said Candi Carter, a former producer for The Oprah Winfrey Show, The View and Tamron Hall.
"You have to be able to lead content and run a show, but also be very vulnerable and sensitive. And it's not so much about you, but enough about you that people care … you don't know who that person is until they're in the seat."
After a 31-year career, trash-talk-TV reliable Maury Povich has hung up his paternity tests: "Enough, already!" the host said in his departing statement. Queer Eye co-host Karamo Brown, a frequent guest on Maury, leads a self-help program produced by Povich's team as of this fall.
Dr. Oz left his health-lifestyle show in January. The retired surgeon and Oprah protégé, whose critics say he promotes quackery and questionable products, is running for the United States Senate. His program was replaced by daughter Daphne Oz's The Good Dish, which was cancelled shortly thereafter.
WATCH | A first promo for The Jennifer Hudson Show:
Tamron Hall took home a Daytime Emmy on Friday for her self-titled talk show, and EGOT-winning singer-actress Jennifer Hudson is working with DeGeneres's producers on a self-titled show that will premiere in September.
The question is whether these new, traditional format programs will have an audience — and where that audience will be watching them. Jada Pinkett Smith's Red Table Talk, for example, streams on Facebook Watch and typically runs under 30 minutes.
