‘Red Table Talk’ Canceled Amidst Meta Shutting Down Facebook Watch’s Original Programming

This post was originally published on this site

The daytime Emmy award winning show, “Red Table Talk,” hosted by Jada Pinkett Smith, her daughter Willow Smith, and mother Adrienne Banfield-Norris has been canceled, according to Variety. Meta is shutting down its Facebook Watch original programs, and the Red Table Talk was the last remaining show to be canceled.  

Produced by Jada and Will Smith’s production company, Westbrook Studios, “Red Table Talk” is a talk show that tackles current social and cultural issues from an intergenerational lens. 

This news comes after the departure of Mina Lefevre, Head of Development and Programming at Meta, along with more than 20,000 employees, as part of the latest round of layoffs.

In 2020, Facebook began scaling back its original scripted programming after removing “Sorry For Your Loss,” starring Elizabeth Olsen and “Limetown”, starring Jessica Biel. The popular social platform then pivoted to more unscripted programming with recent shows like the Tom Brady docuseries “Tom vs. Time,” “Red Table Talk”, and Steve Harvey’s talk show, “Steve on Watch.” 

According to Deadline, Facebook is pulling away from its originals to focus more on user-generated content.

On the last episode of “Red Table Talk” that premiered December 2022, Jada, Willow, and Adrienne hosted a special reunion with the cast of a Different World to celebrate the show’s 35th anniversary with exclusive behind-the-scenes stories, special memories, and a look back on their favorite episodes.

Westbrook Studios is reportedly shopping for a new distributor for the series, now that their deal with Facebook Watch has ended.