‘Access Hollywood’ to End After 30 Years

Access Hollywood is coming to an end.

Deadline reports that the entertainment newsmagazine will air its final episodes later this year after 30 years.

News comes as NBCUniversal exits the first-run syndication business. Production will wrap on NBCUniversal’s remaining first-run syndicated shows, with the decision likely coming on the heels of Kelly Clarkson wanting to end her talk show. Also ending will be Access Hollywood’s offshoot, Access Live, this summer, The Steve Wilkos Show, and Karamo, both of which have already completed production on their current seasons.

As of now, it’s unknown if Access Hollywood and Access Live will continue as digital brands after the shows’ linear runs come to an end. Access Hollywood debuted in September 1996 and was created by former Entertainment Tonight executive producer Jim Van Messel. Currently, the series primarily focuses on news in the music, television, and film industries. Current anchors include Kit Hoover, Mario Lopez, and Scott Evans, as well as correspondents Zuri Hall, Jason Kennedy, and Tim Vincent. Access Live debuted in September 2010.

“NBCUniversal is making changes to our first-run syndication division to better align with the programming preferences of local stations,” Frances Berwick, Chairman, Bravo & Peacock Unscripted, who oversees the division, said in a statement. “The company will remain active in the distribution of our existing program library and other off-network titles, while winding down production of our first-run shows. These shows have provided audiences with great talk and entertainment content for many years, and we’re very proud of the teams behind them.”

News of the cancellation comes just five months after Access Hollywood suffered a round of layoffs, with several technical and stage crew members being let go. Those layoffs came not long after NBCUniversal axed another long-running entertainment series, E! News, and more layoffs are to be expected in the NBCUniversal space after these shows end.

As of now, it’s unknown when exactly Access Hollywood and Access Live will air their final episodes, but more information will likely be revealed in the coming months. With Access Hollywood joining E! News and MTV News, it’s unknown how much longer other entertainment shows, such as Extra and Entertainment Tonight, will last, but for now, those shows seem to be safe. Extra even laid off a handful of staffers last year, with Derek Hough being brought on as the new host.