It looks like CBS has been paying close attention to the small upticks “The Talk” has been experiencing in recent weeks in the Women 18-49 and Women 25-54 sales demos which determines ad rates for daytime television. The network has renewed the series for a 12th season despite the show hitting another record low in total viewers during the week of June 7-11, 2021 when it averaged just 1.196 million viewers and a 0.8/4 in households. The show’s previous low was during the week of April 26-30, 2021 when it averaged just 1.197 million viewers and a 0.9 household rating.
The show’s renewal was announced on Twitter earlier this week with a promise of “more fun, more topics, more talk” during the 2021-2022 television season.
In January, “The Talk” introduced a new panel of co-hosts consisting of Amanda Kloots and Elaine Welteroth who joined veterans Sharon Osbourne, Sheryl Underwood and Carrie Ann Inaba in the studio. In March, it was announced that Osbourne would exit the series following an on-air blowup between the co-hosts over Osbourne’s support of her friend Piers Morgan over criticism he received from comments he made about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in their interview with Oprah Winfrey. He was accused of being a racist and subsequently quit the British morning show “Good Morning Britain.” In defending him on “The Talk,” Osbourne got into a heated exchange with co-host Underwood stemming from social media claims that Osbourne herself was racist for her support of Morgan, among other accusations that were later highlighted by former “Talk” co-hosts Leah Remini and Holly Robinson Peete.
By the end of April, Inaba announced she would be taking a leave of absence from the show in order to concentrate on her health. “I have decided to take a leave of absence from ‘TheTalk’ to focus on my health and well being. I appreciate the support from you and my family at ‘The Talk’ and hope to be back soon!” she said at the time.
Since Osbourne’s exit and Inaba’s leave of absence, the remaining co-hosts have been joined by celebrity male guest co-hosts, including Jerry O’Connell and Justin Baldoni (“Jane the Virgin,” “The Bold and the Beautiful”). CBS News national correspondent David Begnaud, actor and stand-up comedian Bill Bellamy, musician Paul Stanley and former NBA player and sports analyst Baron Davis will appear for the remaining episodes this week.
With no replacement for Osbourne announced, it would appear that when one does they just might be male.