ONTD

The upcoming new TV season will see 2 new broadcast network daytime talk shows with black hosts - each likely hoping to sit on the throne once belonging to Oprah Winfrey, or at least, enjoy a chunky slice of the success she enjoyed in her prime.

Joining the Wendy Williams Show (Fox, although it's syndicated) will be new shows hosted by Steve Harvey (NBC/Universal) and Trisha Goddard (also with NBC/Universal).

With the latter 2 additions, network TV will be able to claim 3 daytime talk shows with solo black hosts.

Toss in recent news of Michael Strahan co-hosting Live on ABC, with Kelly Ripa, as well as The Talk (co-hosted by Sheryl Underwood and Aisha Tyler), and The View (co-hosted by Whoopi Goldberg and Sherri Shepherd), and we could up that figure to 8.



Are there any others I'm missing?

It's worth noting that the network TV talk shows-with-black-hosts market will get a bit more crowded next year, when Queen Latifah's Will Smith-produced daytime talks how is supposed to bow.

Recall the Queen once hosted a talk show, titled The Queen Latifah Show, which had a rather short run, from 1999 to 2001.

But focusing on the upcoming season, the two hosts who'll definitely have my attention are Steve Harvey and Trisha Goddard. I'm especially curious to see what each of them will bring to their audiences, and how they will be received.

Of the two, I'm most familiar with Harvey, and I'd say that, with all the steam propelling him into this new talk show (a best-selling book, that produced a top-grossing movie, a well-attended fairwell concert tour, a popular radio show, and more), he should do well, right off the bat!

What can we expect? Well, Steve Harvey as we know him best. So if you already don't care for his style, you likely wouldn't care for his talk show either. He promises a show that will take a "funny, fresh, insightful and common sense approach," with topics that will include the usual suspects, especially if you're familiar with the talk show formula: relationships of all kinds, love, sex, money matters, etc, etc, etc.

As for Trisha Goddard - she's been around for some time, and almost all over the world - raised and educated in Tanzania, and England, she was Australian TV's first black anchorwoman, and hosted a primetime show there as well; later she hosted two talk shows in the Britain. She's also appeared as a "conflict-resolution expert" on Maury Povich's show, and even guest-hosted a number of times in Maury's absense. So, she's primed and ready to rumble!

She's also a breast cancer survivor, by the way.

What to expect? "Straight talk with a no-excuses," is how the show's being described. But from what I've seen, I'd say it's more a mix of Maury Povich and Oprah; some lie detector tests combined with "change/use your life' speak.

According to THR, Goddard wants to help everyday people struggling with tough issues; she will also cover topics of importance to women.

We'll know a lot more in less than a month, as both shows premiere in September - Harvey's on September 4; Goddards on September 17.

Will you be tuning in to either?




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