Fans of the “The Wendy Williams Show” will be saying “How you doin?” for a final time this year as the popular talk show is slated to end after 14 seasons, distributor Debmar-Mercury announced Tuesday.
Comedian and former “The View” co-host Sherri Shepherd — who has been a frequent guest host this season while Williams dealt with health issues — will be replacing Williams’ time slot on Fox owned-and-operated stations with a new show this fall.
Shepherd’s program will be titled “Sherri” and will be distributed by Lionsgate’s Debmar-Mercury, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“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 also expressed that Williams will be missed, adding, “This is also a bitter-sweet 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 absent for the entire current season of her show while dealing with health issues, including a case of COVID-19 and ongoing complications from Graves disease.
Several hosts have stepped in to help keep the show going including Shepherd, Michael Rapaport, Kym Whitley, and Leah Remini.
“It’s been a challenging time for Wendy as she deals with her health issues,” Williams’ PR rep, Howard Bragman, said in a statement. “She is incredibly grateful to Debmar-Mercury, to Sherri and everybody else who has supported the show through this time. She, more than anyone, understands the reality of syndicated television — you can’t go to the marketplace and sell a show that’s the 'Maybe Wendy Show.' She understands why this decision was made from a business point of view, and she has been assured by Debmar-Mercury that should her health get to a point where she can host again and should her desire be that she hosts again that she could be back on TV at that time.”
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