Sherri Shepherd Announces Return to Daytime TV with Her Own Talk Show Sherri: ‘My Dream Come True’

Shepherd’s new show will inherit the time slot of The Wendy Williams Show. Shepherd and her producing partner Jawn Murray will serve as executive producers along with executive producer and showrunner David Perler, who held similar roles for 12 out of 13 seasons of The Wendy Williams Show. (Shepherd, 54, will be guest hosting The Wendy Williams Show all this week.)

“Sherri is a natural who proved her hosting skills for many years as a panelist on The View, on FOX’s Dish Nation and again this season as a popular guest host of Wendy,” Debmar-Mercury Co-Presidents Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein said in a statement.

“Like our viewers, we have been impressed by the unique comedic twist Sherri puts on our daily live ‘Hot Topics’ segment, her creativity and interactions with our guests. Her love for the content and daytime fans is obvious, and we are excited to partner with her to create another long-term talk franchise,” they said.

“This is also a bitter-sweet moment for us and our partners at FOX. We all have a great love and affinity for Wendy, who grew into a true icon during her 12 incredible seasons as the solo host of a live, daily talk show dishing on ‘Hot Topics’ and interviewing celebrities,” Marcus and Bernstein added.

“Since Wendy is still not available to host the show as she continues on her road to recovery, we believe it is best for our fans, stations and advertising partners to start making this transition now. We hope to be able to work with Wendy again in the future, and continue to wish her a speedy and full recovery,” they concluded.

Shepherd’s return to daytime TV comes nearly eight years since she was a permanent co-host on ABC’s The View. Shepherd first became a guest co-host on The View in 2006 and shortly after she was named permanent co-host in 2007. Though she left the show in 2014, Shepherd made several appearances as a guest host during the following two years.

In addition, she also has experience guest-hosting other shows including Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and To Tell The Truth. More recently, she has been a co-host on FOX’s Dish Nation.

Shepherd’s popularity as a TV host was evident last year when she filled in for Wendy Williams amid the latter’s ongoing health struggles. Shepherd first filled in for Williams in November and her turn as guest host earned The Wendy Williams Show its highest ratings of the season.

“I was thrilled to learn that my hosting week in November was so well received by the loyal viewers of this show. It’s not easy to do what Wendy has successfully done for so many years,” Shepherd said in a statement, in part, at the time.

The Sex Lives of College Girls actress has guest-hosted multiple times since.

Shepherd previously told PEOPLE in 2020 that hosting her own show was “one of my dreams,” adding, “When I got to host The Wendy Williams Show by myself, it was like a dream.”

At the time, she added, “That was the one time I was not nervous because I knew that I could do it, and went out there and made it my own show. It was one of the best experiences of my life. I thanked Wendy and said, ‘I just thank you for letting me stand in your size 11 shoes with my nine foot, just for two days to do a talk show that was all Sherri, by myself.’ And I think that’s also not taking what Wendy … I got to experience something that people can only dream about.”

As for Williams, her continued absence will remain for the “rest of” season 13, a source close to the situation previously told PEOPLE earlier this month.

“Wendy won’t be returning to the show for the rest of this season. Her healing is going slower than everyone had hoped. She continues to deal with a number of medical issues, including Graves’ disease, and she and her team are taking it one day at a time,” the source said.

“But reports of a stroke, drugs or addiction issues or a dementia diagnosis are all false. Whether Wendy can return in the fall will depend on how her healing goes over the summer. Her health is the most important thing,” the source added.