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Amid health issues that have forced her to be absent for the entire season, Wendy Williams’ daytime talk show is coming to an end.
On Tuesday, distributor Debmar-Mercury announced that “The Wendy Williams Show” will end after 14 seasons, with frequent guest-host Sherri Shepherd taking over the time slot.
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According to The Hollywood Reporter, the new program, titled “Sherri”, will feature the same showrunner, David Perler, and is set to premiere in September.
On Tuesday’s “The Wendy Williams Show”, Shepherd shared that she had a huge announcement to make.
“No it’s not quite a wedding but it is good news because starting in September I am debuting my own talk show ‘Sherri’!” she said.
“I am so excited because when I started in this business I have always wanted to do a talk show, even before I joined ‘The View’ in 2007, when I was like 3, I had my microphone and my teddy bears in my chair and I just came out of my mother’s womb talking,” she continued.
“I do wanna say, there have been all of these crazy stories online about me replacing Wendy and I am here to tell you that that is not true, because no one can replace the Queen. Nobody,” Shepherd added. “And trust me, I am not trying to at all. It is Wendy’s place to share her story with you. But I do wanna give the Queen her props and her flowers because Wendy had a legendary career in radio and this show was specifically crafted for her. No one can do this format but Wendy, nobody can sit in a purple chair and sip the tea like Wendy Williams”
She also teased, “‘Sherri’ is going to look different, it’s going to feel differnet, but we are going to have a lot of fun, we’re gona have a lot of laughs, we’re gonna have a lot of joy. And we’re gonna laugh because that is who I am. That is ‘Sherri’.”
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“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’,” said Debmar-Mercury co-presidents Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein in a statement. “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.”
Marcus and Bernstein added, “This is also a bittersweet moment for us and our partners at Fox. We all have a great love and affinity for Wendy, who grew into a true icon during her 12 incredible seasons as the solo host of a live, daily talk show dishing on ‘Hot Topics’ and interviewing celebrities. Since Wendy is still not available to host the show as she continues on her road to recovery, we believe it is best for our fans, stations and advertising partners to start making this transition now. We hope to be able to work with Wendy again in the future, and continue to wish her a speedy and full recovery.”
Williams has been off the show dealing with a number of health issues, including COVID-19 and complications from Graves’ disease, an immune disorder.
During her absence, the show has employed a rotating group of guest hosts, including Leah Remini, Michael Rapaport, Kym Whitley, and Finesse Mitchell, as well as Shepherd, who earlier this month had been named as permanent guest host.
“OMG! I am so excited to have my dream come true and debut my very own talk show Sherri in the fall,” Shepherd said in a statement. “I can’t wait until I return to NY to host the show and merge everything I love — pop culture, talk, entertainment and comedy. I am thankful to Debmar-Mercury and Fox for partnering with me on this show and look forward to this new journey.”