Will ‘The Wendy Williams Show’ Return After All? An Update

Wendy Williams is ready to reclaim her daytime talk show thrown after battling ongoing health issues, but it sounds like her return won’t be anytime soon.

Good Morning America talked to the host in an interview on Thursday, March 17, in which she claimed she was “comfortable” and “ready” to get back to work. “Give me about three months. There are private things that I have to deal with and then I’ll be ready to come back and be free and ready to do my thing,” she stated.

However, Debmar Mercury, a Wendy Williams Show distributor, told Entertainment Weekly this week that the earliest fans could see Williams back on-air would be September 2023. So if she’s ready, why the delay?

Following Williams’ absence, it was announced last month that guest host Sherri Shepherd will be taking over the show’s time slot with her new talk show Sherri, which will premiere this fall after Williams’ current season concludes. According to Mercury, most of the show’s staff are now committed to the new series, though Williams’ syndication company is open to helping the 57-year-old return to the small screen when she’s ready.

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“This is what I would love to say to my Wendy watchers,” Williams told GMA, “Keep watching because I’m going to be back on the Wendy show bigger and brighter than ever.” However, when asked to respond to Mercury’s comments, a representative of Williams, Howard Bragman, told EW, “She doesn’t.”

In 2018, the daytime host revealed her diagnosis with the autoimmune disorder Grave’s disease, which causes overactive thyroid problems (hyperthyroidism). She took a two-month hiatus from the series that same year, along with another health-related break in May 2020. Upon the show’s Season 14 return in October 2021, it was announced she would not appear in the season premiere, with a lineup of guest hosts taking her place since.

With many variables at play, it may be a while until we see the beloved host’s return to the small screen.