CBS Renews The Talk for Season 13

In what has been a tough stretch for talk shows, with several high-profile names getting canceled, CBS has decided to run it back with The Talk, renewing the series for Season 13. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the show’s hosts made the announcement during Monday’s episode. Even more surprising than the show’s renewal is the return of all five hosts.

In recent years, The Talk has become a revolving door of hosts, with four of its current hosts—Akbar Gbajabiamila, Amanda Kloots, Natalie Morales and Jerry O’Connell—only a year into their tenures. Sheryl Underwood, who joined in Season 2, is the longest-running host.

Last season Carrie Ann Inaba and Elaine Welteroth left the show, shortly after original host Sharon Osbourne was fired for her pattern of problematic behavior. As we previously reported at The Root, she was let go from the talk show after a heated exchange with Underwood, where Osbourne repeatedly talked over Underwood, unnecessarily raised her voice and basically enacted every single microaggression against Sheryl in one segment. The argument led many to accuse Sharon of racist behavior, of which it turned out she had a history.

The Talk never really properly recovered after the controversy, going through a rotating laundry list of guest hosts before O’Connell was hired full-time as the show’s first-ever male co-host. Honestly, the new group may not be as scandalous as past crews, but there’s something comforting about just watching people talk to one another like grown-ups. Admit it, when The Talk first started as an alternative to The View, you didn’t think it would become the more palatable show, did you?

The Talk’s renewal was definitely a surprise, as it was very much on the bubble. And once Nick Cannon, Maury and The Real all bit the dust, it wasn’t looking good for the CBS talker. However, the network must have realized they don’t really have a viable replacement unless they add more news or an extra hour of its morning show like ABC and NBC.

The Talk airs weekdays at 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT on CBS and on-demand on Paramount+.