Steve Harvey’s daytime talk show will change producers and move to Los Angeles for fall 2017, several sources confirmed on Friday. The new version of Harvey's talk show will remain on NBC owned stations and NBCUniversal Domestic Television Distribution will continue to distribute it.
The Steve Harvey Show, starring Harvey, is currently produced by Endemol Shine North America, which will continue to produce it in Chicago through the end of this season. Next season, IMG will take over production of the new version of the show, and Harvey himself will have a greater ownership position in the program.
Harvey has been lobbying to relocate the show to Los Angeles from Chicago for at least a year, but financial considerations—it’s more expensive to produce the show in L.A.—made the deal-making difficult. Moving the show to L.A. will allow the show to become more celebrity-driven, making the most of Harvey’s comedy and less about relationships and everyday people, as it was initially conceived. The staff of Harvey’s talk show will be invited to interview for their positions in Los Angeles, and it’s unknown whether executive producer Alex Duda will remain in that position, although sources say she’s well-liked.
Harvey also has plenty of other business going on in Los Angeles, including Little Big Shots, a show executive produced by him and Ellen DeGeneres that features the talents of kids, and Celebrity Family Feud, which is produced by FremantleMedia North America (FMNA) and airs on ABC in the summer.
He also has a nationally syndicated morning radio show, The Steve Harvey Morning Show, and hosts Debmar-Mercury’s top-rated syndicated Family Feud, also produced by FMNA.
Whether The Steve Harvey Show was going to return to syndication in 2017 has been an open question after NBC and Endemol Shine had been unable to renew Harvey's talent deal. Last year, NBCUniversal renewed the show on TV stations for one more year as both NBCU and Endemol Shine worked with Harvey to try to renew his talent deal.
At this point in development season, two new shows have been announced for national syndication: Warner Bros.’ talk show starring Drew Barrymore and executive produced by DeGeneres, and Fox’s news magazine Page Six, produced by Endemol Shine.
