Fans of The Kelly Clarkson Show have known that the talk show was in its final weeks. However, the final episode airing on the 2026 TV schedule is happening sooner than you may think. Monday, August 31 will serve as the Emmy-winning talk show’s series finale celebration and, as Clarkson looked back on the past seven years, she used one word to describe the show. It wasn’t what I would have expected.
The Kelly Clarkson Show debuted on September 9, 2019 and, almost exactly seven years later, the American Idol winner will take the stage for the last time. We’ve known this day was coming — the talk show wrapped filming in June — but now that it’s upon us, Kelly Clarkson took some time to reflect on the guests, the performances, the Emmys, and — most importantly — all the ways life has changed. She said:
This seven seasons, it's been — a lot has happened in my personal life, and a lot has happened in life for [everyone]. There's been a pandemic. I think, if there’s a word to describe The Kelly Clarkson Show, it’s ‘pivot.’
“Pivot” is an interesting word to describe a talk show. The mental image I have of Ross from Friends yelling, “PI-VOT!” as he tries to push a couch up a staircase is actually kind of appropriate, though, when you think about what’s happened to Kelly Clarkson and the whole world in the last seven years. She explained:
There’s not been one normal season, I feel like. But at the same time, what a necessary thing to have to come to work and focus on other people. I think that saved me, honestly, a lot of times [and] I think this show has made everyone better at what they do.
It’s wild to think about — the pandemic hit less than a year after The Kelly Clarkson Show’s debut, during which Clarkson filed for divorce from Brandon Blackstock. She endured heartbreak and a very public, very contentious divorce. She put out a new album, moved the talk show from Los Angeles to New York, experienced weight fluctuations and then went through a different kind of heartbreak when Blackstock passed away in August 2025.
Clarkson saying her talk show was a constant “pivot” also suggests to me that there may have been a lack of stability there for the singer. It’s not hard to see why that may be, but at the same time — as she pointed out above — The Kelly Clarkson Show also served as a place where she could escape what was happening in her personal life and focus on other people.
Now, Kelly Clarkson is leaving TV to focus on what has always been her priority — being a mom to daughter River, 12, and son Remington, 10. It’s been a year since their father died, and when Clarkson announced that her daytime talk show was ending, she said this move felt necessary for this point in her life. One more pivot.
Check your local listings to see how and when you can tune in for The Kelly Clarkson Show’s season finale celebration on Monday, August 31.
