“The Jennifer Hudson Show”, “Tamron Hall” renewed for 2025-26
Daytime shows renewed by Fox, ABC/Hearst stations respectively
Despite several observers writing off the daypart both are in, Disney’s Tamron Hall and Warner Bros. Discovery’s The Jennifer Hudson Show were renewed for the 2025-26 season for their seventh and fourth seasons, respectively.
“Tamron’s distinctive, thoughtful ability to tap into the meaningful issues of the day continue to resonate with her devoted ‘Tam Fam‘ across ABC Owned Television Stations and the Hearst Television markets,” said Debra OConnell, president of ABC News Group and Disney Entertainment Networks on Monday. “With its unique combination of interesting newsmakers and enlightening conversation, I know the show will deliver an exceptional and riveting Season 7.”
“It’s no secret I find inspiration in numbers. For many, the number seven represents a completion for us. For my team and I, season seven represents the continued growth of the show built by the Tam Fam,” Hall said in a statement, thanking everyone involved in the production, sales, and marketing of her show. “I am so excited to nurture and grow this special show with you,” she added.
ABC and Hearst give Tamron Hall 31 station renewals, including ABC 7 Chicago (WLS-TV) and Hearst ABC affiliate WISN-TV Milwaukee. Also renewing are WABC-TV New York, KABC-TV Los Angeles, and WCVB Boston, with seven of the top ten markets on board. Known for a variety of topics, Hall this season dived into medical gaslighting, true crime, and parenthood. Hall’s show also features celebrity interviews and musical performances as this season featured Colorado football coach Deion Sanders, Mary J. Blige, Eric Benet and Chante Moore (as an act), Wayne Brady, and Kenya Moore.
Hall’s renewal was followed by Jennifer Hudson’s Wednesday by her Fox-owned station base, including Fox 32 (WFLD-TV), which airs her show weekdays at 11 a.m. In addition to Chicago, Fox stations carry her in all top six markets including New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Philadelphia, and Houston.
“It is an unbelievable privilege to spend your days being able to engage with inspiring people from all walks of life; to hear their stories and connect on shared experiences; and to hopefully leave audiences a little more joyful than when they arrived,” said the Chicago-born and raised EGOT winner. “This show is a testament to what happens when you do what you love, and when you do it alongside an unstoppable team who creates magic in new ways every single day. I’m so excited to take this adventure to new heights in season 4!”
Hudson’s show is more light-hearted than Hall’s, as it typically avoids hard news topics. But like Hall, Hudson features celebrity interviews. This season, Hudson welcomed Cynthia Erivo, Ray Romano, Jimmy Kimmel, Kelly Rowland, and fellow Chicago-area natives Keke Palmer and First Lady Michelle Obama. Both shows have been nominated for numerous awards, with Hall winning two Daytime Emmys and Hudson nominated for ten Daytime Emmys and won two NAACP Image Awards.
The renewals come at a time when some are questioning the future of daytime TV, as younger viewers are abandoning linear TV with syndication getting hit hard as the recent cancellation of three syndicated Fox shows illustrated. Hudson’s show was on the bubble, as is other programming the station group is carrying, including Warner Bros.’ two other syndicated series, the long-running Extra and the new True Crime News with no decision yet on each show’s fate.
However, Hall, Sherri Sheppard’s, and Hudson’s shows are popular with Black viewers, who traditionally overindex daytime. Hudson’s show received a 21 percent increase in the adults 25-54 demo last month from October 2024 with its digital following up 103 percent and impressions up 627 percent to 777 million, while Hall’s show enjoyed a 32 percent increase in YouTube followers and a 39 percent increase in video views. On Monday, CBS debuts Beyond The Gates, a new soap opera with a mostly Black cast that will air opposite Tamron Hall in four of the top five markets, including Chicago. ABC 7 Chicago has been airing Tamron Hall since 2021 after two seasons at WCIU. Among many stops, Hall has made in her career was right here in Chicago, where she was co-anchor of WFLD’s former Fox Thing In The Morning in the late 1990s and early 2000s.