Statement: Summer Premieres and Fall Sneak Peeks

NBC

Broadcast: The end of June marked the end of new episodes of Steve Harvey’s daytime talk show Steve. Despite Harvey’s 1.8 million viewers, NBC is replacing Steve with The Kelly Clarkson Show, a talk show featuring singer Kelly Clarkson. Furthermore, NBC decided to take Harvey off the children’s talent show program Little Big Shots and put comedian and actress Melissa McCarthy in his place. Following his departure from daytime television, Harvey reported that he is looking into online platforms such as YouTube while continuing his work hosting Family Feud.

On June 10, Fox TV started a three-week trial run of RuPaul, a daytime talk show hosted by RuPaul, known for his popular TV show RuPaul’s Drag Race on VH1.  The show features RuPaul interviewing celebrity guests such as James Cordon and Adam Rippon along with monologues, dancing, and other entertainment. RuPaul is reminiscent of RuPaul’s 90s talk show, The RuPaul Show which was prominent for being the first national television program with an openly gay host. However, while The RuPaul Show starred RuPaul dressed in full drag, RuPaul dressed in a simple, pastel pink suit for the first episode of his new show, stating that while audiences are used to seeing him in over the top outfits and accessories, he wants them to see him in a new light on “RuPaul.”

Keke Palmer is taking over co-hosting Good Morning America with host Michael Strahan while host Sara Haines is on maternity leave. Palmer is no stranger to the GMA crowd as she previously filled in for Strahan in April while he was traveling. Palmer, who was the youngest talk show host in 2014 with her show Just Keke, is predicted to stay on Good Morning America for the remainder of the summer. 

Talia Parkinson-Jones has signed on as co-executive producer of Tamron Hall, a new syndicated Disney/ABC talk show that will launch this fall, hosted by Tamron Hall. In an interview with Broadcasting & Cable, Hall states that her show will be a traditional type of daytime talk show, a kind where “in the course of five days you laughed with someone, cried with someone, maybe bought a book and learned something.” Her show will premiere on September 9 on eight ABC owned stations and will feature genuine, in-depth conversations with guests, an element that has been successful on daytime television but is not prevalent in the current suite of daytime television shows.  

Cable: Ian Edwards is premiering his new talk show, Ian Edwards: Ideas Not Worth Spreading on July 12 at midnight on Comedy Central. The show is Comedy Central’s twist on a Ted Talk where Edwards will be discussing his viewpoints on various subjects serious and silly, including abortion rights and sushi. His entertainment background is in standup comedy and comedy television writing, including writing for ABC’s Blackish. He was also co-producer of HBO’s Crashing and Netflix’s Friends From College. The show is part of a series of specials produced by All Things Comedy for Comedy Central. 

The hosts of Showtime’s late-night talk show Desus & Mero are starting their US tour in Miami on July 12. Desos Nice (Daniel Baker) and The Kid Mero (Joel Martinez) host Showtime’s first late night weekly series called Desus & Mero where they discuss daily news regarding pop culture, viral internet content, and local happenings. Both Baker and Martinez grew up in the Bronx and the two, along with co-writers Ziwe Fumudoh and Heben Nigatu aimed for the show to be grittier and edgier than other late-night talk shows. Their summer tour, which hits Miami, Austin, L.A., Houston, and Dallas, is set to be the live version of their talk show and podcast. 

Chasing The Cure, a talk show hosted by former NBC News anchor Ann Curry will air its first episode August 8 on TNT and TBS. The informative talk show, produced by Kim Bondy,  is centered on medical issues such as uncured, undiagnosed, or misdiagnosed patients who will receive help from the show’s team of doctors. Chasing The Cure aims to connect doctors and patients around the world, using crowdsourcing techniques and a wide medical network to solve medical mysteries and share touching stories in real-time.

Netflix

Online: Hasan Minhaj’s Netflix talk show Patriot Act is coming back for a fourth season starting in August. While Netflix has canceled three other talk shows in the past two years, the Patriot Act continues to thrive. Minhaj’s deep dives into political issues and other controversial topics, from Supreme to Harvard admission scandals to protests in Sudan, have made his show popular despite its disadvantages as a current events show on a platform meant for binge-watching. The show’s YouTube channel has almost 500,000 subscribers, with some videos reaching upwards of 1 million views. The first episode of season 4 will be on August 4.

Tan France has a new Netflix web series Dressing Funny that launched on June 21, featuring France interviewing and dressing comedians and celebrities. France is known for his role as the fashion guru on Netflix’s popular show “Queer Eye.” His new show will air on YouTube and is part of Netflix’s new campaign to move into the comedy genre with the slogan “Netflix is a joke.” Dressing Funny’s latest episode features Miranda Sings, alternatively known as Colleen Ballinger, and has over 1 million views. The show is set to run until July 18 on Netflix’s YouTube channel.