Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Kayleigh Donaldson | TV | February 3, 2026
Daytime TV has not been immune to the recession, although it did seem to be in better shape than their primetime cousins. In the post-Ellen age, the fight to become the new monarch of the syndicated talk-show beat was mighty. We had Kelly Clarkson, Drew Barrymore, Tamron Hall, Jennifer Hudson, Sherri Shepherd, Karamo Brown, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos, and Steve Wilko (no, seriously, the security guard from Jerry Springer's show has his own series and it's still on the air!) But not even big stars, sprit tunnels, and agonizingly close-contact chinwags are enough to stay on the air these days. In the space of one day, we've seen two big syndicated series announce their ends.
First came Kelly Clarkson. The American Idol winner probably had the best of the bunch, able to balance chipper celebrity interviews with her own highly impressive karaoke sessions. The Kelly Clarkson Show has earned twenty-two Daytime Emmy Awards over its seven seasons, and remained one of the most consistently high-rated series in its time slot. But it's all about to end soon, as Clarkson explained on Instagram.
Clarkson has certainly had a tough year. Her ex-husband died of cancer last year, and their divorce had been extremely messy. She has two young kids and has been bouncing around the country doing her talk show and a Vegas residency, so who can blame her if she needs to pull back from the high-stress environment of a five-days-a-week TV gig.
Then came Sherri Shepherd, previously seen on The View and Queen of Jordan. Sherri launched in 2022 and was initially the replacement/heir to Wendy Williams' show. After Williams left her star vehicle, it was retooled for Shepherd, but it was never as beloved as the chaotic gossip hive of Wendy. Now, it's been cancelled after four seasons.
"This decision is driven by the evolving daytime television landscape and does not reflect on the strength of the show, its production -- which has found strong creative momentum this season -- or the incredibly talented Sherri Shepherd," Debmar-Mercury co-presidents Ira Bernstein and Mort Marcus said in a joint statement to Variety. "We believe in this show and in Sherri and intend to explore alternatives for it on other platforms."
So, does that mean it's going to continue online, perhaps? We do seem to be replacing a lot of shows these days with union-free filmed podcasts. It's good that Shepherd's team are in her corner, although I wonder what niche she'll go for now. She seemed to struggle getting big name guests compared to the likes of Clarkson, Barrymore, and Hudson. I also sadly never heard her say 'HAM!' once.
There will always be a sizeable audience for daytime programming, even if it's not what it once was due to an increase in choices and the realities of work, but it does feel like we'll never have another Oprah or Ellen. At least, we won't have them through these channels. That's what podcasts are for now. Yikes. I feel like we're, at minimum, a year away from someone trying to get syndication for a podcast hosted by someone who 'is just asking questions' about vaccines and the like. Hey, Sherri isn't sure if the world is round, so maybe that'd be a fitting successor.
