Grammy and Academy Award-winner Jennifer Hudson announced that her new daytime talk show, The Jennifer Hudson Show, will debut in Fall 2022. Or as she undoubtedly put it, “And I Am Telling You, I Am Going… to Host A Talk Show.” Hudson first hit the spotlight as a finalist during American Idol’s third season, ultimately coming in seventh place to Fantasia Barrino. The announcement makes her the latest in a long list of Idol alum-turned-hosts that includes Kelly Clarkson and Kellie Pickler.
The Jennifer Hudson Show will be produced at Fox Television Studios by Warner Brothers Unscripted Television in association with Telepictures, and will air across Fox networks. This comes on the fashionably high heels of Hudson’s recent win at the NAACP Image Awards, where she won Entertainer of the Year as well as Outstanding Actress for her role as Aretha Franklin in the biopic Respect.
Hudson enters a daytime chat market in flux, as major player Wendy Williams announced – then may have tried to unannounce – her retirement in favor of comedian/The View host Sherri Shepherd’s new show, Sherri. Emerging from left field as a major contender has been The Drew Barrymore Show, which went viral in its first season as the titular Barrymore learned how to host a talk show on the air.
When reached for comment, Hudson said, “People from around the world have been a part of my journey from the beginning – twenty years ago – and I’m so ready to join their journey as we sit down and talk about the things that inspire and move us all. I have always loved people and I cannot wait to connect on a deeper level and let audiences see the different sides of who I am, the human being, in return. And I couldn’t be more thrilled to do it alongside this incredible team. We’re about to have a lot of fun and shake things up a little bit!”