It's officially the end of an era. "The Wendy Williams Show" as we know it will end this Friday, but the namesake host is not scheduled to make a final in-person appearance. Details on the show's finale episode, inside.
With a video montage as a salute to the Queen of Media herself set for Friday, "The Wendy Williams Show" will come to an end. The writing has been on the wall for over a year, and Wendy Williams has not hosted her show herself all season. A spokesperson for the show has now confirmed the show will wrap on its 13 seasons this upcoming Friday.
“The final original episode of ‘The Wendy Williams Show’ will air on Friday, June 17th with a video tribute to the iconic host. The series comes to an end after 13 successful years in syndication,” a spokesperson for the show says in a statement to Variety.
The daytime talk show has been airing all season without its host, Wendy Williams, who will not be present for the final episode, which will include a video montage celebrating her groundbreaking television run.
Sherri Shepherd, who has nabbed her own "Sherri" talk show launching this fall, has been guest hosting this whole season, as well as special guest hosts filling in from time to time like Remy Ma, Fat Joe, Michael Rappaport and more. Wendy has taken several hiatuses over the last couple of years due to various reasons. As Variety recalls:
"Over the past few years, Williams had taken various health-related hiatuses from her show and had been vocal with her viewers about suffering complications from both Graves’ disease and lymphedema. In 2017, she fainted (and got right back up) during a Halloween episode and, in 2019, she revealed during an emotional monologue that she had been living in a sober house. Shortly after, she filed for divorce from her husband, Kevin Hunter, who had been her longtime manager and a producer on her talk show, publicly addressing tabloid rumors about their relationship with her audience.
Williams’ absence this season has remained somewhat of a mystery for her devoted fans."
Wendy has mainly been absent this 2021-22 season due to ongoing health issues and complications from Graves' Disease that she has said previously are now on the up-and-up. After news hit back in February that the show would likely come to a complete wrap at the end of this season – according to the show's production company Debmar-Mercury – Wendy herself spoke out saying she would be making a comeback. She didn't detail in what way she would be coming back, but she did let fans know she's feeling better and is dealing with her troublesome financial issues with Wells Fargo.
Weeks after that, Wendy spoke out saying she was in the process of getting her show back. Without any further details, fans were left hopeful that she could make a return. Well, since the show is definitely ending in just a few days, it looks like that comeback will have to be in a completely different form for the 57-year-old. She did hint that she would be open to a podcast deal...if it's one that meets her $100M demand.
We'll be tuning in Friday to salute the Queen, and here's to hoping she returns in her own way, stronger than ever.
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Photo: The Wendy Williams Show
