Steve Harvey has gotten evicted from NBC to make room for Kelly Clarkson. Kelly Clarkson, a former ‘American Idol’ winner and ‘The Voice’ coach will be launching her very own talk show called ‘The Kelly Clarkson Show’ this fall — and it’ll be taking over Steve’s slot after seven seasons.
Deadline Reports, Both fronted by veteran comedians, Harvey and Ellen DeGeneres’ shows have been a formidable daytime block on the NBC stations, led by flagships WNBC New York, KNBC Los Angeles and WMAQ Chicago. Both opened their new seasons with year-to-year gains for their season premieres earlier this month; Steve was up 27% to an individual day rating of 1.4 with its second season opener on Sept. 4..It is not clear what will happen to Steve, produced by IMG Original Content, which replaced the Endemol Shine North America-produced Steve Harvey starting last fall.
It is being distributed by NBCU TV Distribution but I hear the company has been telling stations it would no longer handle it. IMG could take it elsewhere, and I hear that the company has had preliminary conversations. In the new incarnation under new ownership structure, Steve, which relocated from Chicago to Los Angeles, is pretty expensive, which could make finding a new home challenging, but I hear IMG intends to continue with the show.
Neither Steve nor Ellen are produced by NBCUniversal, while The Kelly Clarkson Show is. It is the first first-run syndication series developed after the fall 2016 restructuring at NBCU, which saw NBC head of alternative Paul Telegdy take over the first-run syndication division. There are clear synergies — it was Telegdy and his unscripted team that recruited Clarkson for NBC’s The Voice, first as a part-time advisor on Season 13 and then as a coach since the most recent Season 14. (She also is set for cycles 15 and 16). She was a standout on The Voice, leading to a talk show pilot, which was shot this past summer.
“The incomparable Kelly Clarkson takes everything she touches to another level and we couldn’t be happier to bring her talent, humor, generosity and compassion to daytime next year,” said Telegdy, President, Alternative & Reality Group, NBC Entertainment. “With Kelly’s cross-generational appeal and extraordinary ability to understand and connect with viewers, The Kelly Clarkson Show will have something for everyone.”
The new daytime talker starring Grammy-winner Clarkson is described as a fun, energetic show that breaks with tradition. Each episode will feature stories, celebrity guests, surprises, humor and music.
“I love connecting with people, playing games, music and finding ways to help or give back to communities/organizations,” Clarkson said. “Having my own talk show where I get to do all of these things is pretty much a dream job!”
Other stations from the NBC Station Group that will air The Kelly Clarkson Show as a lead-in for Ellen include WCAU Philadelphia, KXAS Dallas-Fort Worth, KNTV San Francisco, WRC Washington DC, WTVJ Miami, KNSD San Diego and WVIT Hartford. The new show will also air in Boston on NBC-owned station WBTS in a different slot. The 11 NBC owned stations cover nearly 30% of U.S. households.
“We are very excited to have Kelly Clarkson on our air next fall,” said Valari Staab, President, NBCUniversal Owned TV Stations. “She’s genuine, warm, fun and interacts with her fans in a meaningful way. She will be the perfect companion to Ellen, providing an afternoon of great television.”
We love Kelly Clarkson, and can’t wait to see if her talk show will be just a great as her albums.
