Loni Love on ‘The Real’ cancellation: ‘I had to console a lot of crew and fans’
Loni Love, co-host of Warner Bros. Unscripted Television/Telepictures daytime talk show, “The Real,” confirmed the sad news of its cancellation. (Credit: The Real/Screen Capture)
By Rebecca Johnson // Television // EEW Magazine Online
Crewmembers and fans of Warner Bros. Unscripted Television/Telepictures daytime talk show, “The Real,” have been grieving since news of its cancellation after eight seasons was confirmed.
Co-host, comedian and author, Loni Love, said on social media, “I had to console a lot of crew and fans this weekend” that grew attached since it first premiered in 2013.
Credit: “The Real”
The original hosts included actor Tamera Mowry-Housley, stylist Jeannie Mai-Jenkins, singer Tamar Braxton, actor and singer Adrienne Bailon-Houghton, and Love. According to Variety, “Warner Bros. opted to end the show after Fox stations declined to pick up another season.”
The Emmy-winning, inclusive program that features an all women, all minority panel will continue to air through June 3rd.
“I’ve been in this business a long time and understand it,” said Love, 50, “but it still warms my heart that so many have reached out to me.”
Credit: “The Real”
According to her, “COVID costs killed the show.” Despite efforts “to scale the show down” by shooting a week’s worth of episodes in a three-day span, nixing the audience, and turning “a conference room into a studio,” Love said, in the end, it wasn’t enough.
Choosing to focus on good memories, she added, “It’s been a great ride,” and “this is not goodbye but see you all soon!”
The newest co-host, Garcelle Beauvais, who joined the syndicated talk show in 2020 following the departure Mowry-Housley, took to Twitter to comment on the cancellation, saying, it was “a fun ride,” and she enjoyed her time working with a “group of amazing women and crew.”
Bailon-Houghton and Mai-Jenkins have yet to comment on the cancellation.
At the height of its success, “The Real” was a rare breakthrough story for the syndicated market which had not seen many new hits emerge over the past decade.
It was produced by Telepictures and distributed by Warner Bros., and was their longest-running daytime syndicated talk show behind “Ellen” and “Jenny Jones.” The series won three Daytime Emmy Awards and two NAACP Image Awards.
Au revoir, ladies. It’s been real.