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It appears that producers have identified the woman they'd like to take over for Ellen DeGeneres when she completes the 19th season for her legendary talk show. Variety has reported that Jennifer Hudson and her team are working with Warner Bros. TV to develop a new talk show that would debut after Ellen DeGeneres leaves her current time slot. Rather than airing a continuation of the DeGeneres' show, Warner Bros. TV and Hudson are working to create a completely new series.
Recently, Hudson shot a test episode on the same stage where DeGeneres currently films. Insiders have told Variety that the award-winning singer is “authentic and natural” on screen. Also, Variety reports that DeGeneres' current executive producers, Andy Lassner and Mary Connelly, will work on her show. However, Hudson's team and Warner Bros. TV are still working out key details regarding the show's name and musical setup. At this time, there are no plans to shop the show to other studios and networks. Furthermore, there is no scheduled start date for the show at the moment.
Hudson is no stranger to trying new things and taking chances along the way. Her ability to move through different mediums of entertainment has landed her multiple Grammy Awards, an Emmy Award and an Academy Award. Now, she sits one award from earning the exclusive "EGOT" club. With this latest endeavor, she follows in the footsteps of Queen Latifah, Tyra Banks, Tamron Hall and Oprah Winfrey as one of the few Black women to earn a talk show lost on a major network.
Hudson nor DeGeneres have spoken publicly about the matter. In the meantime, DeGeneres will focus on bringing her iconic daytime talk show to is grand ending in 2022. She recently wrapped up her special Halloween episodes and set the stage for Tiffany Haddish to step in as a guest host next week.