Steve Harvey’s nationally syndicated show has officially come to an end.
According to Variety, the series will take its final bow in June. The final episode was filmed on Thursday (May 9), but details about what took place remain unknown. Steve ran for seven years on NBC, with Harvey one of the few people of color with a successful talk show in the daytime slot in years. The talk show was previously pushed as The Steve Harvey Show but changed styles and tone after Endeavor’s IMG Original Content reached a deal with Harvey in 2017 that included him receiving a majority stake in the show.
In September, it was previously reported that Harvey was losing his slot with NBC after the network announced plans to develop a talk-variety hour with Kelly Clarkson.
A source told Variety that Harvey has no regrets about making the shift to IMG and changing the content from a traditional Oprah-like feel to heightened attention to celebrities and pop culture. “Steve took a shot,” the source said. “He still made more money than he would have under the old deal.”
Harvey touched on the topic back in January at the Variety Entertainment Summit, throwing bits of shade at NBC for not keeping him in the know about the decision.
“I thought I was, until they made an announcement a couple of weeks ago that they wanted to give Kelly Clarkson the owned-and-operated NBC networks — that’s my slot,” Harvey said about the decision. “I don’t know if it sold, it’s not selling like they thought, but I thought it would have been nice of them to come to me — as the only dude who’s survived [in daytime TV] for seven years — about it. You know, I’m an honorable guy,” he added. “I’m just an old school guy, and I just thought that you’re supposed to just talk to people and just go, ‘Look, you’ve been good business for us. This is what we’re thinking of doing, are you OK with that?’ No, you just don’t put something in the paper and say, ‘I’m just going to make this move right here,’ because it’s crazy.”
Ironically, the show has gotten more attention on social media thanks to Harvey’s candor about general topics. This week, the comedian was met with disputes about ableism after he pushed the idea of “no days off” work ethic by not sleeping in. With a new audience (agreeing with his views or not) there’s a chance the show can be picked up at another network or live in streaming world.
Rich people don’t sleep 8 hours a day. pic.twitter.com/jcDWBYKE6V
— Ayesha Currency (@Kierstensharris) May 7, 2019