Oscar winner and American Idol alum Jennifer Hudson is adding something completely different to her resume: Talk show host. Hudson, most recently seen on the big screen playing Aretha Franklin in “Respect,” is pitching a new daytime talker to be produced by the team from The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Although not technically an Ellen replacement — her show wouldn’t be a continuation of the Ellen deals and is being shopped as an entirely new series — it would be positioned as Warner Bros. TV’s new flagship daytime talk show now that Ellen is ending its run.
NBC has announced the one-time American Idol contestant will look to uncover potential singing stars when she joins fellow coaches Blake Shelton, Adam Levine and Miley Cyrus for the fall season of the reality singing competition.
Jennifer Hudson and Harvey Fierstein have signed on to NBC’s Hairspray Live, the network’s next live Broadway musical. Hudson will play Motormouth Maybelle, while Fierstein will star as Edna Turnblad, the role he won a Tony for in the stage version. He will also write the teleplay.
