‘The Talk’s Fate Revealed After Sharon Osbourne Scandal

The Talk is coming back for a 12th season after a difficult year on the CBS talk show. Following the internal investigation that led to the contentious exit of Sharon Osbourne and extended show hiatus, The Talk announced Monday on Twitter that it will be coming back for a 12th year in 2021-2022 after first debuting in October 2010. Now hosted by moderator Carrie Ann Inaba, Sheryl Underwood, Amanda Kloots, and Elaine Welteroth, the show has not announced its cast for next season, nor a replacement for Osbourne.

The wife of rocker Ozzy Osbourne came under scrutiny back in March after her controversial comments in defense of friend Piers Morgan and his discounting of Meghan Markle’s experiences with racism. Osbourne was then accused of using racial slurs with co-workers earlier working on The Talk, which she staunchly denied on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher. Denouncing “cancel culture” and “woke language,” the former daytime host said at the time, “I’m used to being called names. A racist is one I will not take. …It’s not fair. It isn’t about being a racist. It’s maybe not knowing what is correct and woke for your language that day. It changes from day to day what is correct.”

Inaba also stepped back temporarily from The Talk in April, saying she needed to “focus on [her] well-being” but hoped to be back soon. Earlier this month, the Dancing With the Stars judge said on Instagram she was “feeling better by the day” after doing work with healers and her own energy during her time away from TV. “[I was] in chronic pain all the time. Basically, since the pandemic hit, I have been in extreme pain. I’m on the road to recovery and I’m extremely grateful,” she shared.

Inaba didn’t give a specific timeline for her return, saying she didn’t “know the answer to that yet,” but thanked The Talk for giving her the time to take care of herself. “We are probably going to sit down and have some discussions about what the future is and when I go back, maybe the end of this month,” she explained of what’s ahead of her in regards to the show. “I do miss everybody at The Talk and I look forward to be able to do what I love to do when the time is right.” Disclosure: PopCulture is owned by ViacomCBS Streaming, a division of ViacomCBS.