‘The Talk’ Will See Big Changes In Season 14

ByAllie Johnson
Courtesy of CBS. The panel of hosts discuss a topic during an episode of The Talk.

New executive producer Rob Crabbe promises to shake things up with some big changes on The Talk with a dynamic new season.

With the WGA strike officially over, The Talk will be returning for its 14th season on Monday, October 9. After having its return delayed for nearly a month, the show promises to hit the ground running. Equipped with a brand new executive producer, the daytime talk show will aim to spice things up and think outside the box. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be a strong sense of continuity. 

In an interview with TV Insider, executive producer Rob Crabbe talked about the big changes he has planned for The Talk. But he is also well aware of keeping a certain level of comfort for the show’s dedicated viewers. He’s not looking to reinvent the wheel, but he does have ideas for a tweak or two.

The Big Changes Planned For The Talk

When people talk about big changes coming to a talk show, that almost always means a shakeup of talent. But don’t worry, Akbar Gbajabiamila, Amanda Kloots, Natalie Morales, Jerry O’Connell, and Sheryl Underwood are all returning to the show. In fact, they won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.

“Fundamentally, the show is called The Talk – we’ve got five dynamic hosts who are different personalities, all of whom have a take on what’s going on in pop culture. That shouldn’t change,” Crabbe told TV Insider. “The reason people tune in is because of the continuity of hosts. They want to spend time with them. That will continue to be the core of the show. There are ways to sprinkle in other segments. Maybe we’ll add some games and get some dynamics going with the guests and start to develop our own recurring segments.”

One of Crabbe’s first moves as executive producer was to revamp the overall look of The Talk. “We’ve made some tweaks to the set, we’ve opened it up a bit. We’ve brought the hosts closer together. It’ll be a more intimate environment for conversations. We’re trying to open up the set a little bit. We’ll have some chandeliers. It won’t be a radical departure, but there will be more warmth,” Crabbe said.

Rob Crabbe’s Vision For Season 14

While the WGA strike has concluded, the SAG strike is still in full force. With actors unable to promote any of their acting work, Crabbe says that the show will find alternative topics to discuss with guests. “We’re all rooting for SAG-AFTRA to reach a fair and equitable deal and for things to be settled as soon as possible. We’re doing a show that doesn’t violate any of the strike [guidelines]. Our hosts are under a different deal.”

“Our approach has to be a bit cleverer. As stars aren’t promoting films and TV shows as they traditionally do at this time of year, we have to dig a bit deeper and look for different stories,” Crabbe explained. “We’ll explore experts and people from the outside so that we can have interesting conversations. As producers, we want to find the best way to take advantage of that.”

Crabbe noted that The Talk can’t lose sight of what type of talk show it wants to be. He says that being entertaining should always be the priority. “I don’t want to veer away from being an entertainment show, but we can be informative on things, too,” said Crabbe.

“We’ll visit with a Hispanic wine maker for Hispanic Heritage Month. We’ll talk to experts about the latest stories in sports. We can do a demo with a wrestler. There are different ways to be informative with exercise tips and authors. While we can be informative, entertainment will always be the guiding principle.”

Are you looking forward to the new season of The Talk? Do you think big changes were needed to shake up the show? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Allie Johnson
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