The show must go on.
More than five months after Wendy Williams took medical leave, the time has come for executives to make a decision about the future of her daytime talk show.
While many celebrities—including Leah Remini, Whitney Cummings, Jerry Springer and more—have filled in for Wendy in recent months, Debmar-Mercury co-presidents Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein said in a statement on Feb. 22 that guest host Sherri Shepherd is getting a new talk show, which will take over The Wendy Williams Show time slots. "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," they shared. "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."
Sherri's eponymous show will be executive produced by Wendy Williams' own David Perler. According to Variety, other Wendy Williams show staffers will move to Sherri when it premieres in the fall.
Despite the "bittersweet" decision to move forward without Wendy, the Debmar-Mercury presidents expressed gratitude to the former disc jockey, describing her as a "true icon." "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," they assured. "We hope to be able to work with Wendy again in the future, and continue to wish her a speedy and full recovery."
While guest hosting The Wendy Williams Show, Sherri announced the exciting news to the audience and assured fans that she could never "replace" Wendy. "No one can replace the queen," she promised. "Nobody! And trust me, I am not trying to at all. It is Wendy's place to share her story with you."
Following the announcement, Wendy's rep Howard Bragman issued a statement to E! on his client's behalf: "It's been a challenging time for Wendy as she deals with her health issues. 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,'" he continued. "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."