Kelly Clarkson made her debut on The Voice earlier this year, and NBC liked her enough to keep her along for the ride in its upcoming Seasons 15 and 16. It now appears the network is an even bigger fan of the pop star than we thought, as it just purchased a daytime talk series hosted by Clarkson. The first American Idol winner will host The Kelly Clarkson Show, which will reportedly replace Steve Harvey's current talk show, Steve. Clarkson revealed the news on The Tonight Show, and described what will set her project apart from others:
I'm still touring, I still have music, you know what I'm saying? It's one of those things where my band is on the road with me or they're on the show with me and doing stuff. And we sing every day on the show and do like this fan request thing; it's fun. On the pilot, I got people to sing with me and do a little skit, so it's very musical as well. It would be weird if it wasn't. If you don't like music, you probably shouldn't watch!
Deadline reports The Kelly Clarkson Show isn't scheduled to premiere until fall 2019, but when it does, it will be the lead-in to the popular and consistently entertaining Ellen. The time slot is great news for Kelly Clarkson and a great sign of faith from NBCUniversal that the singer will succeed in her new digs. The emphasis on singing, and the fact that Clarkson's tour band will also be featured, will certainly justify the project being called a "break from tradition," but the show will also have the typical celebrity interviews and viral-ready games one would expect.
As packaged by NBCUniversal Domestic TV Distribution, The Kelly Clarkson Show will not affect Clarkson's presence on The Voice for the time being, and the singer is still confirmed to serve as a coach for the upcoming seasons 15 and 16. Both seasons will air prior to the premiere of The Kelly Clarkson Show, however, so there's a chance Clarkson may conclude her coaching tenure on The Voice ahead of its Season 17 premiere. There's still a chance she could still do both, and it really depends on how much she wants to load up her schedule.
The Kelly Clarkson Show is not necessarily bad news for Steve Harvey's Steve, which is reportedly free to shop its way onto another network. NBCUniversal Domestic TV Distribution is allegedly telling stations it will no longer handle the IMG Original Content-produced Steve, so that production company is able to arrange deals for it to air elsewhere. Steve Harvey's previous self-titled talk show had been on NBC affiliates for seven seasons, and eventually relocated its production and revamped itself as Steve.
Both Steve and Ellen opened their latest seasons with year-to-year gains, and based on those numbers, it would appear popularity may only play a small factor in this decision. Neither show is produced by NBCUniversal, although The Kelly Clarkson Show will be, which could be the reason Harvey's talker is getting replaced. One could also speculate there's a correlation between Ellen's viewership and the potential viewership of The Kelly Clarkson Show, what with singing and dancing always going together. We can't say for sure why Steve is reportedly getting booted, but we can say we'll be really excited if 40 Year Old Virgin star Steve Carrell ends up being Clarkson's first guest, and that she'd be as animated as she was during her announcement.
The Kelly Clarkson Show will premiere on NBC in the fall of 2019. For a look at new television show making premieres or returns well before that, be sure to visit our fall premiere guide.
