Getting the elephant out of the room! The Chew hosts Clinton Kelly, Michael Symon and Carla Hall began their Thursday, May 24, episode addressing the news that the show will end after its current season. When Kelly, 49, brought up the news, the audience booed, but he stayed positive.
“It’s OK, it’s OK. These things happen,” he said. “The mood is a little sad around here to be honest with you. There is a lot of people who work really hard on this show and really believe in this show and we’re all going to miss this show very, very much. We’re not going to talk about any trending topics today or hammer home the theme but we thought we’d spend the first segment of the show talking about our feelings.”
Symon added: “I could count on a couple of fingers the days that I didn’t want to wake up at 5:30 and come to work. It has been the most fun I have ever had in my life of any job I have ever had and it’s because of the fans. You guys are unbelievable and you’ve made it so special for us.”
On Wednesday, May 23, ABC announced that Good Morning America would be airing a third afternoon hour, taking the spot of The Chew. “It is bittersweet. For seven years The Chew has delighted audiences by delivering innovative food segments in an entertaining atmosphere,” Ben Sherwood, co-chairman of Disney Media Networks, and president of Disney ABC Television said in a statement. “We applaud and thank Gordon Elliott, Aimee Householder, Michael Symon, Carla Hall, Clinton Kelly and the entire cast and crew for their great work and amazing run. And we wish them the very best.”
The cancellation comes nearly six months after former host Mario Batali was fired due to allegations of sexual allegations made against the chef. Last week, Hall told Us Weekly the daytime show had no plans to replace Batali on the hosting panel.
The Chew will air on ABC until September.
