Jennifer Hudson Working on Daytime Talk Show With ‘Ellen’ Team
Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson could be entering the talk show realm.
The Respect star is pitching a new daytime talk show to be produced by the team behind The Ellen DeGeneres Show, reports Variety. While not intended as a replacement for Ellen, it would be launched as Warner Bros. TV’s new flagship daytime talker, now that Ellen is coming to the end of its run.
A test show was recently filmed on the Ellen stage and is being used as part of the pitch to networks. Ellen executive producers Andy Lassner and Mary Connelly served as showrunners on the test shoot and are developing the show as a first-run syndicated broadcast TV daily strip. Pitch meetings are said to be taking place this week and appear to be going well.
Warner Bros. Unscripted Television, in association with Telepictures, is behind the project, which is still a work in progress. Details on the show’s format are still being worked out.
Hudson is no stranger to unscripted television. The former American Idol star served as a coach on both the U.S. and U.K. editions of The Voice, and she won a Daytime Emmy award earlier this year for Oculus Quest’s Baba Yaga, which she executive produced. Another Idol star Kelly Clarkson has gone on to great success with her own daytime show.
Following her seventh-place finish on American Idol in 2004, Hudson went on to superstardom, winning an Academy Award for her film debut as Effie White in the musical Dreamgirls. She went on to win two Grammy awards while continuing to star in hit movies such as Sex and the City, Chi-Raq, and most recently playing Aretha Franklin in Respect.
In May, DeGeneres announced that Ellen would end after 19 seasons. The long-time host’s contract is up in 2022 and she decided that now is the right time to step away, having previously considered leaving in 2019. The show was the center of controversy in 2020, following accusations of a toxic work environment.
The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Weekdays, Check your local listings
