The Wendy Williams Show as we know it will be over after this week.
According to Variety, the final episode of The Wendy Willaims Show will air Friday. The show had been hosted by Williams for 12 of the series’ 13 seasons before Williams’ various health concerns took center stage, forcing her to take an extended medical leave. The final episode will feature a video montage of Williams’ best moments from the show. However, Williams herself will not be in attendance.
Variety posted a statement from the series' spokesperson, which reads:
“The final original episode of The Wendy Williams Show will air on Friday, June 17 with a video tribute to the iconic host. The series comes to an end after 13 successful years in syndication.”
The series will pick up again in the fall, but under a new name and with a new host--Sherri Shepherd, who became the new host after filling in for Williams during her absence.
The new name, Sherri, will usher in a new era of daytime television, one that won’t see a shock jock-type personality at the helm of a daytime talk show. Potentially, the change could mean the end of an era in many more ways than just the end of Williams’ show.
While The View still utilizes shocking and controversial guests and topics, the overall landscape of daytime television has been veering back towards gentler, less explosive content, but still opinionated content. Even TMZ Live isn’t as garish for television viewers, a contrast to its website counterpart. And, as Shadow and Act has reported consistently, many viewers of The View want the show to focus less on salaciousness and more on concrete news and fact-based opinion.
However, Debmar-Mercury, the production company behind The Wendy Williams Show, have said they would like to work with Williams again once she is healthy. As the company's co-presidents Ira Bernstein and Mort Marcus told Variety recently, they are waiting on Williams' health to improve before offering her a new job.
“It doesn’t mean the next day, but we will put it together and ifugre it out,” said Bernstein. “It’s not like we have a Plan B where we hit a button and it’s back in a week, but we do have the desire to be in business with her, if she can come back and be healthy, and so does Fox.”
Marcus added that if her health wasn't an issue, "she could have continued to keep doing [the show] as long as she wanted."
“She was still getting a rating and she has a die-hard audience that turned it into a profitable show,” he continued. “We were protecting the business, while we waited for her. And at some point, we had to say, ‘When have a business to run and she’s not here.’ It was a hard call.”
