As Ellen and others have shown, the canceled TV show axe doesn't just kill Netflix shows, but talk shows as well. The latest? A recent report has Warner Bros. Unscripted Television/Telepictures ending the daytime talk show The Real — which has included hosts such as Tamera Mowry-Housley, Jeannie Mai, Tamar Braxton and Loni Love — after its eighth season.
This news comes to us from Variety, which reports that it wasn't just Warner Bros. making the call. Insiders told the outlet that: "Warner Bros. opted to end the show after Fox stations declined to pick up another season."
One other interesting caveat is included: "the move is not related to the launch of The Jennifer Hudson Show." So don't go thinking these networks and studios don't think there's only room for a specific number of Black-led talks hows.
Over on Instagram co-host Loni Love posted a note that read: "In the end The Real cast & crew did everything we could to scale the show down. We shot 7-8 shows in 3 days, no audience, made a conference room into a studio, but in my opinion Covid costs killed this show."
Analysis: Will The Real be saved?
Whenever a show ends, our first thoughts jump to "well, will it be saved?" Talk shows are always ripe for such a happy outcome, as they're not reliant on having more story to tell.
And that's why we point to the end of the aforementioned Instagram post from Love, who also wrote "it's been a great ride and thank you to the studio for allowing 8 seasons of show that was Emmy winning and historic. Most importantly thank you to the viewers for riding with us .. this is not goodbye but see you all soon!"
That last part really jumps out to us as an interesting note to flag, as it sounds like The Real could live on somewhere else. But since it seems like Warner Bros isn't looking to shop the show around, it sounds like Love either has plans for a new project or look to get some of the co-hosts to reunite under a different banner.
That said, the revolving door of co-hosts could make this tricky. Two of the show's biggest names — Braxton (in 2016) and Mowry-Housely (in July 2020) — have left the series, though apparently it was all on good terms.
Warner Bros. could relaunch some version of The Real on HBO Max, which would be an interesting first for the network. While Peacock has talk shows at night, and Disney Plus is getting Dancing with The Stars, none of the big streaming services have entered the daytime talkshow arena yet.
To learn about more of the shows you won't see more of in the future, check out our roundup of Netflix canceled shows of 2022.
