Jennifer Hudson Might Be The Next Ellen - Former American Idol Working With Warner Bros. On New Talk Show
Daytime TV might be adding a second American Idol to the roster: Singer and Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson is apparently currently working with Warner Bros. to court networks for her own talk show, according to Variety.
Warner Bros. began searching for a new star to build a talk show around as soon as Ellen DeGeneres announced she would be ending the show in 2023. The host had formerly planned to end the show in 2019, but decided to keep it going for a little longer at the last minute. This time, she likely had no choice; after a scandal involving the culture on her set and her treatment of the crew, Ellen has lost her luster.
Now a little over a year out from that 2023 deadline, Jennifer Hudson has already taped a test episode on the Ellen set for their pitch, though they have said they are not at all set on the format or balance of the show yet.
Hudson already has experience in unscripted TV with The Voice (and, of course, Idol.) She also has an Emmy for her work as executive producer of the 2020 movie Baba Yaga.
If Hudson's show were to be picked up by NBC, she wouldn't get Ellen's former time slot - that would most likely go to fellow American Idol alum Kelly Clarkson and her talk show, The Kelly Clarkson Show. Hudson would take Clarkson's slots, making for a back-to-back Idol talk show feature.
