Fox Stations Renew ‘Wendy’ Through 2021-22

Wendy Williams today launched the 11^th season of The Wendy Williams Show, produced and distributed by Lionsgate’s Debmar-Mercury, by announcing to her audience that Fox Television Stations (FTS) renewed her eponymous topical talk franchise through the 2021-22 television season.

The additional two-year renewal will extend the decade-long run of the live, nationally syndicated show to 13 seasons.

Williams said: “I’m so excited to launch our 11^th year by letting the world know I will continue to do what I love to do so much — and for a very long time! Our great partners at Fox Television Stations have renewed Debmar-Mercury’s The Wendy Williams Show through 2022. I want to tell Fox and all of our stations today how much their support and confidence means to me. They should know we will never stop working very hard to bring our dedicated Wendy Watchers and audience ‘co-hosts’ the freshest national daytime television! I ❤ you for watching!”

Frank Cicha, FTS EVP of programming, said: “Wendy is family to us, and post-AM news, her program jumpstarts the day in our markets. Plus, she’s got enough wigs to make sure the show never gets stale.”

Wendy returns for its 11^th season premiere today with a mix of live “Hot Topics” and celebrity interviews — a viewing formula that has catapulted the show into the top tier of talkers. In the past year alone, it has averaged more than 1.6 million viewers per day nationally, including 440,000 in the all-important advertiser category of women 25-54.

Through its first decade, Wendy was the only daytime talk show on the air long enough to see its audience grow among the women 25-54 audience – up 17% in the local markets over that time span, according to Debmar-Mercury, which added that  this year also brought Wendy the largest May-to-May sweeps improvement of any talker, with a 6% gain in the key demo (one of only two shows up). The achievement made Wendy the lone talk entrant to increase both year-to-year and over its lead-in, with a 34% surge in the crucial demo bracket in its just-concluded 10^th anniversary season, Debmar-Mercury said.

Debmar-Mercury Co-Presidents Ira Bernstein and Mort Marcus commented: “Wendy’s enduring demo strength is matched only by its unwavering support among our valued station partners. Fox, which has been there from the start, remains a big believer in the power of Wendy to deliver the goods and keep its important morning news block viewers from going anywhere.”