Jennifer Hudson Pitching Her Own Daytime Talk Show to Replace ‘Ellen’

Jennifer Hudson has her sights set on daytime television, and the Academy Award-winning singer/actress is gunning for Ellen’s spot.

The Respect star has been pitching her own daytime talk show that would be produced by the same team behind The Ellen Degeneres Show, Variety reports. It would be a continuation of Ellen’s show and is expected to be an entirely new series with Hudson at the center.

The new show is being pitched as Warner Bros. TV’s new flagship daytime talk show that will take over after Ellen ends her 19-season run. Two executive producers from Ellen, Andy Lassner and Mary Connelly, recently served as showrunners on Hudson’s test show that was shot on Ellen’s stage set.

The test show is currently being shopped around as a pitch for Hudson’s new show. Meetings have been underway over the last week, and the response has reportedly been going well.

There isn’t an official title for the show that is being positioned as a nationally syndicated talk show and not one added to streaming platforms. The news comes after Warner Bros. has been busy looking for a big name to take over once Ellen completes her final season.

Hudson had expressed interest, and after Warner Bros. considered around 30 different names, the Dreamgirls star was selected as their first choice. While Hudson has appeared onscreen and nearly walked away as a winner of American Idol, she hasn’t had any daytime talk show experience.

Hudson has served as a vocal coach on both the US and UK versions of The Voice. Hudson would join fellow American Idol alum Kelly Clarkson on the daytime TV circuit if her show is picked up. The Kelly Clarkson Show was renewed through 2023 and airs right before Ellen in major market NBC stations.

Back in May, DeGeneres announced that season 19 would be the final one for the long-running series. Her decision came after a year of scandal where former and current workers accused execs of creating a toxic workplace behind-the-scenes, as noted by The Hollywood Reporter.