The Talk has a knack for holding onto co-hosts for long runs on daytime TV, but the CBS show is already losing the woman who joined just one year ago to replace Sara Gilbert. Marie Osmond stepped up to fill Gilbert's place at the Talk table for the tenth season, and she is now slated to leave before the eleventh.
Marie Osmond's departure from The Talk has become official toward the end of The Talk's summer hiatus, and Deadline reports that production on Season 11 is slated to begin later in September. Assuming the rest of the cast of co-hosts remains the same, The Talk will return with Sharon Osbourne, Sheryl Underwood, Eve, and Carrie Ann Inaba.
No details are available at this point about who might be recruited to fill the fifth chair. After the departures of Julie Chen in the wake of scandal surrounding husband Les Moonves ahead of Season 9 and Sara Gilbert ahead of Season 10 to focus on other areas of her life, Sharon Osbourne is the last original co-host standing. Dancing with the Stars' Carrie Ann Inaba is the newest of the judges now that Marie Osmond is leaving, as Season 11 will be her third.
Marie Osmond's decision to leave seemingly isn't because of any bad blood between her and The Talk. In a statement (via Deadline), CBS said:
Marie is a consummate professional, and we thank her for sharing her personal experiences, insight, as well as incredible talents, with our audience. We will miss her humor, kindness and good nature, and wish her much success in her future endeavors.
Like Julie Chen, who stuck around CBS to continue her tenure as host of Big Brother, Marie Osmond's time with the CBS family isn't ending just because she will no longer co-host The Talk. She is working on other projects, reportedly including a show with ViacomCBS. Osmond confirmed her departure with an Instagram post, in which she revealed that "one of the highlights" of her year at The Talk was working with John Redmann, who served as executive producer and showrunner.
John Redmann left The Talk after ten seasons over the break as well, and Marie Osmond shared that they will continue their "working relationship on several projects" that they're developing. Osmond also noted that she and her husband recently dropped their youngest two kids off at college, realized that they "hadn't been this alone together since 1982," and she's looking forward to spending more time with him, their kids, and their grandkids.
As for The Talk, the big question is who will step in now that Marie Osmond has stepped out. Osmond wasn't an altogether surprising selection to fill Sara Gilbert's slot, as she had appeared on the show in no fewer than 40 episodes as a guest co-host. I for one would be shocked if whoever The Talk taps for the fifth chair isn't going to be a familiar face to viewers. Other previous guest hosts would be logical choices, especially if they already worked with most or all of the co-hosts who are sticking around and can fit in with the chemistry.
For now, we can only wait for news. The Talk airs weekdays on CBS. If you're in the market for some primetime offerings now and in the coming weeks, be sure to check out our 2020 fall TV premiere schedule.
