‘Ellen’ Trio Set as Showrunners for Jennifer Hudson’s Syndicated Show

Jennifer Hudson’s forthcoming syndicated talk show is getting a leadership injection from The Ellen Show.

The newly minted EGOT winner’s The Jennifer Hudson Show will launch Sept. 12 in more than 95 percent of the country and be steered by Mary Connelly, Andy Lassner and Corey Palent. The trio have been the driving force of Ellen DeGeneres’ syndicated show, which recently said farewell to its host after a nearly 20-year run. The trio will serve as showrunners on The Jennifer Hudson Show.

Connelly and Lassner, as part of their deal for the show, have also each inked an overall deal with Warner Bros. Unscripted TV and will develop and create other unscripted series for the studio. (It’s worth noting that multiple Ellen Show segments were spun off to unscripted series.)

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Hudson, Lisa Kasteler Calio, Graehme Morphy and Walter Williams III will also executive produce alongside Connelly, Lassner and Palent, while Shani Black (Red Table Talk) will serve as co-executive producer.

“I’ve worked with Mary, Andy and Corey across multiple shows for the past nine years, and I’m thrilled that we’re able to keep them in the family because they are truly the best in the business,” said Mike Darnell, president, Warner Bros. Unscripted Television. “With Jennifer’s incredible talents, and the addition of Lisa, Graehme, Walter and Shani to the producing team, I know this show is going to be fantastic and I’m excited for what’s to come.”

The Hudson show will be distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic TV Distribution and will air on Fox Television Stations, Hearst Television, Sinclair Broadcast Group, TEGNA, Nexstar Media Group, Scripps Media and Gray Media Group, among other station groups. The series will film in Los Angeles. Warners produces alongside Telepictures.

Connelly and Lassner served as exec producers of The Ellen Show since its inception in 2003. The show earned 22 Daytime Emmy Awards and ran for 19 seasons. Palent, who also started with Ellen in 2003, most recently oversaw original digital content for the show. The series parted ways with its exec producer, head writer and co-exec producer after the trio were named in reports about a “toxic work culture” and reported sexual harassment and misconduct on set.