Disappointing Setback Hits ‘Access Hollywood’ Set

Access Hollywood is taking a hit.

The longtime entertainment news program, which has been running since 1996, is now facing a round of layoffs due to the cancellation of similarly long-running program E! News—which filmed at Terrace Studios, the same studio that Access Hollywood and Access Daily are filmed in, and often utilized the same staff members on all three series.

An article from The Hollywood Reporter noted that several technical and stage crew members were let go, especially those who only worked on one series.

E! News launched in 1991 and ran for 34 years. Famously, it took a two year break during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Its cancellation was a consequence of NBCUniversal splitting itself in two; soon, NBC-owned channels like E!, CNBC, MSNBC, USA, Syfy, and more will become a part of spinoff company Versant. E! News was cancelled for cost-cutting reasons ahead of the launch of the new company, although it will still exist as a digital brand, and the channel E! will still continue to air both original programming and the red-carpet coverage it’s known for.

It’s the latest round of layoffs in a year of strange media news, with the Paramount-Skydance merger being the most famous case. Since Skydance CEO David Ellison has taken over Paramount, restructuring and layoffs have been extremely common from the top down.