CBS names a male as co-host of ‘The Talk’ — a first in the industry

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CBS’s daytime “The Talk” is becoming the first show of its kind to add a male as a permanent co-host.

Jerry O’Connell has signed on to join the CBS talk show, reports Deadline.

While many men have guest hosted on shows such as “The Talk” and “The View,” neither show has ever named a male to the job on a full time basis.

O’Donnell replaces Sharon Osbourne, who left the show earlier this season amid a storm of controversy about offensive comments she allegedly made in the past and on air.

O’Donnell has filled in for Wendy Williams on her New York based talk show and her production company, Debmar-Mercury, produced a test version of his own show in 2019, titled “Jerry O’,” that was not picked up. It aired only 15 episodes. Both shows are syndicated, where “The View” and “The Talk” are part of ABC and CBS daytime schedules nationwide, respectively.

Of course, being named a “permanent” co-host of anything is a bit misleading — since television and, more specifically, talk shows, are notorious for their rotating casts of co-hosts.

Frequent in fighting between co-hosts, salary disputes, lack of chemistry and scandals are all commonplace among day TV talk panels.

Both “The View” and “The Talk” has similar concepts, at least one paper — they feature a group of women (or, in some descriptions, mothers), sharing their views on the news of the day.

“The Meredith Vieira Show,” a syndicated talk produced by NBCUniversal, featured Lance Bass as a panel member toward the end of its run, but the show wasn’t billed as an all female show. In addition, other daytime talk shows, including both “Wendy Williams,” “The View” and “The Talk” have males who appear regularly as fill ins or on regular segments.

It’s worth noting that “The View” has an open spot with the announced departure of Meghan McCain at the end of the current season, so it could follow suit and add a male to its panel.