Jennifer Hudsoncould soon become the successor toEllen DeGeneres. The Oscar winning-actress is currently creating a new syndicated daytime talk show with Warner Bros. and Telepictures, slated to launch next year.
The talk show, which has yet to be named, is predicted to take over the daytime timeslot at non-NBC affiliates that have long been home toThe Ellen DeGeneres Show, according toDeadline. Ellen is currently in its final season of a 19 year run as the undisputed leader of daytime talk, which means that Hudson will have some huge shoes to fill once her talk show gets underway.
She will have help from two longtimeEllenfixtures,Andy LassnerandMary Connelly, who both will jump to Hudson’s new talk show as executive producers onceEllenends. Hudson’s syndicated talk show will have some hurdles to leap if it wants to replicate some of the success ofEllen. Syndicated talk shows have had a challenging time of late, with the latest wave of new talk shows being picked up by local affiliates of ABC, NBC, and CBS have all come directly from their parent networks.
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That has left little room for outside syndicated talk shows to gain a footing with station groups. A prime example is a RuPaul talk show that was shopped around by Warner Bros. but never picked up. EvenThe Drew Barrymore Show, first shopped as a Warner Bros. project, was a no-go until Barrymore took the show to CBS Studios, which currently produces the talker. Hudson’s new show could also run into an issue with financial viability. Production companies and distributors have lost money on talk shows in recent years, according to Deadline.
However, there is hope that Hudson’s talk show could reverse the trend with a higher profile timeslot. WithEllenvacating her timeslot at the end of the season, the 3 P.M. timeslot will be up for the taking.The Kelly Clarkson Showis slated to move into theEllentimeslot on NBC stations in the fall. There are rumblings that Hudson’s show could be aiming for that coveted timeslot on the non-NBC affiliates, becoming a direct competitor with Clarkson’s show.
Hudson’s talk show is expected to premiere in syndication in the fall of 2022.
