‘The Talk’: Why Did Marissa Jaret Winokur Leave The Daytime TV Show?
The daytime talk show field is a crowded one with many shows entering the fray across different platforms and networks. These TV shows typically compete with both each other and other daytime content like reality programming and soap operas.
The Talk is one of those daytime programs that has managed to remain a constant figure on CBS for more than a decade. Over the years, the series has seen a lot of shakeups among its co-hosts, and one of those early changes happened when Marissa Jaret Winokur left the show after its very first season.
As the series is thrust into the spotlight with the high-profile ousting of one of its original cast members, people are looking back at these early departures and wondering what was behind them.
‘The Talk’ was created by Sara Gilbert in 2010
Sara Gilbert, who is probably best known for her work as Darlene on Roseanne, was the creative force behind The Talk at its inception. She pitched a program to CBS that had many similarities to rival ABC program The View.
The talk show would feature a panel of women discussing current events and celebrity gossip. Bringing in a variety of perspectives and personalities would help keep the show interesting and fresh.
The recipe obviously worked as The Talk has received multiple awards including Daytime Emmys and a People’s Choice Award, according to IMDb.
Cast changes have been frequent on ‘The Talk’
While the show has certainly seen success and garnered fans, it has also been a somewhat volatile workspace that has seen a lot of turnover among its co-hosts. Originally, there were six women cast for Season 1: Gilbert, Julie Chen, Sharon Osbourne, Marissa Jaret Winokur, Holly Robinson Peete, and Leah Remini. Fully half of those women would not return for Season 2, so the stage for a lot of mix-ups was set early in the series’ run.
To date, none of the original members are still with the program. Osbourne was the longest-lasting co-host, but her recent departure following a controversial dispute with co-host Sheryl Underwood has changed that. Now, Underwood is the longest-running remaining cast member as she joined the series in Season 2. Even Gilbert — the show’s original developer — has stepped away, citing a desire to spend more time with her family.
Why did Marissa Jaret Winokur leave ‘The Talk’?
The high-profile departure of Osbourne has left fans looking back at earlier exits from The Talk. There is certainly evidence that interpersonal dynamics were at play in at least some of these earlier oustings. Leah Remini, for example, was vocal about feeling disliked by Osbourne and suggested in a 2012 tweet that Osbourne had called her and Holly Robinson Peete “ghetto.”
As for Marissa Jaret Winokur, something much less nefarious appears to have been at play. As Us Weekly reports, Winokur’s contribution to the show was largely a segment called “Mom in the Streets.” As the new series found its footing and expanded in a different direction, Winokur’s segments were no longer a great fit for The Talk.
Winokur has stayed active in the time since her departure with a filmography that showcases work in reality TV series like Celebrity Big Brother and comedies like What We Do in the Shadows.
The cast shake-ups at The Talk have certainly been headline worthy, but the show is also a demanding kind of performance that requires frequent studio time and the ability to tackle new content at a rapid-fire pace. While interpersonal dynamics seem to have driven some exits from The Talk, some turnover is natural and expected for the genre.
