After 14 seasons on the air, “The Wendy Williams Show” is coming to an end. Williams will not return for the remainder of the season, which is still in production. Instead, the talk show will continue to air live shows with rotating guest hosts – including Sherri Shepherd, who is replacing Williams’s time slot with her own talk show this fall titled “Sherri.”
“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.” Many individuals from Williams’s production staff, including her executive producer, will begin working for “Sherri” as both talk shows hail from Lionsgate’s Debmar-Mercury.
After reports began speculating that Williams’s health condition was the reason for her show ending, the host set the record straight with a statement. “It’s been a challenging time for Wendy as she deals with her health issues,” her spokesman Howard Bragman stated. “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 would be back on TV at that time.”
Speculation around Williams’s health began shortly after she went on hiatus from her show in July 2021. Though she’s currently not in a position to return to TV in a hosting capacity, Debmar-Mercury Copresidents Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein have expressed that the door is open for Williams if and when she’d like to make a comeback in the future.
“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,” they said in a statement. “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.”
