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Debmar-Mercury, the show’s distributor, confirmed Tuesday morning that the Wendy Williams Show would conclude after 12 seasons. To fill up Williams’ time slots on Fox owned-and-operated stations, Sherri Shepherd, who has been a frequent guest host this season due to Williams’ health difficulties, will star in a new syndicated strip starting in the fall. 

Sherri, Shepherd’s talk show, will be released by Lionsgate’s Debmar-Mercury, which also distributes The Wendy Williams Show. The showrunner for Wendy Williams, David Perler, will serve in the same capacity on Sherri as Shepherd and her producing partner Jawn Murray as executive producers. 

“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,” said Debmar-Mercury co-presidents Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein in a statement.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59mUZPnW-w0

In 2008, a few Fox-owned stations ran a trial run of The Wendy Williams Show, which became national the following year. Williams, a radio disc jockey famed for her candid and raw commentary, was nominated for four Daytime Emmys for her work as a talk show presenter. Unfortunately, this year was the last time she hosted her own show before she was forced to retire due to many health difficulties.

“This is also a bitter-sweet moment for us and our partners at Fox. We all have a great love and affinity for Wendy, who grew into a true icon during her 12 incredible seasons as the solo host of a live, daily talk show dishing on ‘Hot Topics’ and interviewing celebrities. 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. We hope to be able to work with Wendy again in the future, and continue to wish her a speedy and full recovery.”