Kelly Clarkson has announced that The Kelly Clarkson Show will conclude after its current seventh season, a decision shared with staff and crew that ends weeks of public speculation. The syndicated daytime program, produced by Universal Television and distributed by NBCUniversal Syndication Studios, will continue producing Season 7 with Clarkson as primary host through Fall 2026. Clarkson has said she made the choice to step back to focus on her children following a difficult year for her family. Production will proceed as scheduled, with Clarkson taking planned days off and a small number of guest hosts filling in.
Key Takeaways
- The Kelly Clarkson Show will end after Season 7; episodes will air through Fall 2026 and production continues this season.
- Kelly Clarkson cited prioritizing her children after her husband’s cancer treatment and death in August 2025 as central to her decision.
- The series launched in 2019 and moved from Los Angeles to New York in 2023 under Clarkson’s leadership.
- The show claims a digital footprint exceeding 2 billion annual views across Facebook, Instagram and TikTok for the third straight year.
- Since debut, the program has gained roughly 6.5 million social followers and popularized the “Kellyoke” segment.
- The series has earned 24 Daytime Emmy Awards, including four consecutive wins for Outstanding Daytime Talk Series and four consecutive host wins.
- The program aired in more than 200 U.S. markets and employed a high-cost production model with a live band.
Background
The Kelly Clarkson Show grew out of Clarkson’s visibility as a coach on NBC’s The Voice and debuted in 2019 as a high-profile syndicated daytime talk series. NBCUniversal and Universal Television backed the program as a premium, band-led variety talk show at a time when most new daytime formats favored lower-cost productions. In 2023 the series moved its production base from Los Angeles to New York, a notable shift in logistics and staffing that reflected both creative choices and network strategy.
Daytime talk shows have faced mounting economic pressure over the past several years, with rising production costs and changing audience habits pushing stations and distributors to reassess investments in full-scale studio productions. Despite that environment, Clarkson’s show consistently ranked near the top of daytime ratings and built a substantial digital audience, largely propelled by musical segments and celebrity interviews.
Main Event
The announcement to end the show after Season 7 was conveyed internally to staff and crew and follows sustained public discussion about the program’s future. Industry reporting had suggested Clarkson’s contract was expected to conclude at the end of Season 7; she has now confirmed she will not continue as host beyond this season. Production will maintain the current schedule; Clarkson will host the planned episodes but will take intermittent time off during the run, with guest hosts covering some broadcasts.
Clarkson’s decision follows a personally difficult year. She took a leave of absence in spring 2025 to support her children while their father underwent cancer treatment; he died in August 2025. In her public statement, Clarkson framed the choice to step back as a family-first decision and said she intends to continue making music and occasional television appearances, including possible returns to The Voice.
NBCUniversal executives and the show’s syndication team issued statements praising Clarkson’s contributions and the production staff’s work across seven seasons and a cross-country relocation. Though some industry observers expected the distributor might attempt to continue the franchise with a new host, NBCUniversal has opted to end the series rather than proceed without Clarkson.
Analysis & Implications
The end of The Kelly Clarkson Show removes one of the last high-cost, celebrity-fronted daytime offerings in current syndication, signaling how challenging it has become to sustain such formats financially. Shows that feature live bands, large crews and music licensing obligations carry overhead that stations and syndicators increasingly view as unsustainable compared with leaner talk formats or syndicated reruns. The program’s closure may accelerate station-level decisions to favor lower-cost programming blocks.
For talent, the decision underscores a trade-off between the steady visibility of a daily broadcast and personal life demands; Clarkson explicitly tied her exit to family needs after bereavement. Her continued prominence as a recording artist and occasional TV presence suggests the end of this daily show may not diminish her public platform, but it will change the distribution of her audience across media.
At the network and distribution level, ending a successful, award-winning show removes a proven ratings and digital-engagement property from station lineups. NBC-owned stations lose a consistent daytime performer that delivered both traditional ratings and strong social reach. For syndication markets, replacing a seven-season franchise with comparable revenue and promotional value will be difficult in the near term.
Comparison & Data
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Premiere year | 2019 |
| Seasons | 7 (ending) |
| Annual digital views | 2+ billion (across FB, IG, TikTok) |
| New social followers (recent) | 6.5 million |
| Daytime Emmy Awards | 24 (including four straight Series wins) |
| U.S. markets | 200+ |
Those numbers illustrate why the program was seen as an outlier: strong awards recognition and a massive digital footprint made it valuable beyond linear ratings. Yet the high-production model that produced those returns is precisely what many stations are reluctant to replace at comparable cost.
Reactions & Quotes
Network and production leaders framed the ending as a partnership achievement while expressing gratitude toward Clarkson and the team. Their comments emphasized the show’s creative and operational accomplishments over seven seasons.
“Stepping away from the daily schedule will allow me to prioritize my kids, which feels necessary and right for this next chapter of our lives.”
Kelly Clarkson (statement)
The syndication executive credited Clarkson and the creative leadership for the show’s success and legacy.
“The Kelly Clarkson Show has been an extraordinary collaboration.”
Tracie Wilson, EVP, Syndication Studios
Representatives for NBCUniversal Local highlighted the program’s value to station lineups and thanked the production for consistent quality over seven seasons.
“A valued part of our NBC-owned stations’ lineup for seven seasons.”
Valari Staab, Chairman, NBCUniversal Local
Unconfirmed
- Reports had suggested Clarkson’s contract would end after Season 7; formal contract terms have not been published by the parties. (Unconfirmed)
- There was industry chatter that NBCUniversal considered continuing the series with a new host; the company has not confirmed any internal deliberations publicly. (Unconfirmed)
- Future guest-host scheduling and any formal retirement from daily television by Clarkson beyond this season remain subject to change. (Unconfirmed)
Bottom Line
The departure of Kelly Clarkson from her eponymous syndicated talk show marks the close of one of the most prominent and award-winning entries in recent daytime television. While the show’s ratings and digital metrics demonstrated clear audience engagement, the intersection of personal priorities and an increasingly difficult economic environment for high-cost daytime formats led to this outcome.
For stations and syndicators, the end removes a rare, premium daytime asset and may accelerate shifts toward lower-cost programming solutions. For Clarkson, stepping away from the daily grind appears focused on family and creative flexibility; she remains likely to surface in music and occasional television roles, keeping her public profile active even as this chapter closes.
Sources
- Deadline — entertainment trade (report)