‘Sherri’ coming soon: Shepherd’s talk show to replace ‘Wendy Williams’
‘Sherri’ coming soon: Sherri Shepherd (“The View”) is one of several celebrities who have been guest-hosting “The Wendy Williams Show” since Wendy Williams stepped back to deal with healthrelated issues, and it looks like she’ll be a more permanent fixture beginning this fall when she launches her own syndicated daytime talk show.
“Sherri” will slide into the Fox timeslot currently occupied by “The Wendy Williams Show,” which doesn’t yet have an end date but will carry on with guest hosts until the current season wraps. After that, the transition should go fairly smoothly behind the scenes, since both shows are produced by Lionsgate’s DebmarMercury and many “Wendy Williams” staffers (including executive producer/showrunner David Perler) are moving over to Shepherd’s show.
“I am so excited to have my dream come true and debut my very own talk show, ‘Sherri,’ in the fall,” Shepherd said in a statement. “I can’t wait until I return to New York to host the show and merge everything I love … pop culture, talk, entertainment and comedy.”
The future of “The Wendy Williams Show” has been up in the air for some time, and a representative for Williams previously indicated that she wouldn’t be back this season. But even with “Sherri” now moving forward as a possible replacement, Debmar-Mercury copresidents Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein took the time to thank Williams in their statement while leaving the door open for a future collaboration.
“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,” the joint statement read. “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.”
Founding father: Michael Douglas (“The Kominsky Method”) as Benjamin Franklin? It’s happened before.
The Oscar and Emmy winner, who was the voice of Franklin in an episode of the 2003 PBS series “Freedom: A History of US,” will soon be playing the Founding
Father again in an upcoming limited series for Apple TV+.
The limited drama doesn’t have an official title just yet, but it is based on the book “A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America” by Pulitzer Prize winner Stacy Schiff. The story would focus on Franklin’s diplomatic mission to France during the American Revolution, when, at the age of 70 and without any diplomatic training, he convinced the French monarchy to underwrite America’s experiment in democracy.
“By virtue of his fame, charisma and ingenuity, Franklin out-maneuvered British spies, French informers and hostile colleagues, all while engineering the FrancoAmerican alliance of 1778 and the final peace treaty with England of 1783,” Apple said. “The eight-year French mission stands as Franklin’s most vital service to his country, without which America would not have won the Revolutionary War.”
Emmy winner Kirk Ellis, who wrote and co-produced the 2008 HBO miniseries about another Founding Father,“JohnAdams,”is adapting Schiff’s book for television, while Emmy winner Tim Van Patten (“Boardwalk Empire”) is set to direct.
As for Douglas, he’s still attached to a previously announced drama about the 1986 summit between U.S. President Ronald Reagan (Douglas) and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev (Christoph Waltz, “Inglourious Basterds,” 2009), though IMDb indicates it’s still in pre-production.
Before ‘Outlander’: What would “Outlander” be like without the love story of Claire (Caitriona Balfe, “Belfast,” 2021) and Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan, “Doctors”)? We may soon find out, because a prequel series is reportedly in development at Starz.
According to Variety, showrunner/executive producer Matthew B. Roberts (“Hellcats”) is taking the lead on writing and producing the prequel, though Starz and Sony Pictures Television both declined to comment. Plot details are also unknown at this time, but many are looking at the series’ source material, the writings of author Diana Gabaldon, for hints.
“Outlander’s” current season, which debuted earlier this month, is based on “A Breath of Snow and Ashes,” the sixth novel in Gabaldon’s “Outlander” series, and Season 7 will be based on the seventh book, “An Echo in the Bone.” That leaves two more novels for future seasons, if Starz extends the series’ run.
But what about the prequel? In a Feb. 3 Facebook post, Gabaldon teased a prequel novel was in the works and would focus on Jamie’s parents, Ellen MacKenzie and Brian Fraser. Gabaldon did add, however, “I’ve barely begun working on it,” so there’s probably not enough to form the basis for a new TV series just yet.