The Chew in the Media, and Ratings and Scheduling

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[milkyaqua]

The Chew: Co-Host Daphne Oz to Exit

Though Oz will continue to appear in reruns of the cooking-themed daytime talk show through August, she and ABC have agreed that she will exit ahead of the Season 7 premiere on Tuesday, Sept. 5.

[jcbrown]

Can't say I'm surprised. I thought this was where things were headed with her being missing for so many episodes. I like her chemistry with the team, especially Mario and Michael, but I think she is the host the show can best stand to lose. I don't think they need to replace her. Hope they just stay with the core four hosts that are left.

[Irlandesa]

I agree.  I am a little surprised she's not going to have a going away show.

I am curious if she quit or if they told her she couldn't do her one or two day a week thing any longer.

[biakbiak]

I wonder if they are going to try and replace her. I think the show works fine with the four of them but gets a little iffy when there are three. It will be tricky because none of the people they have brought on like Curtis have gelled very well. 

[Jaded]

I didn't mind her the first couple years or so but she would get annoying at times when I watched after that. I actually don't mind her as much when she's a judge on the Food Network cooking shows though. It's weird.

[TVFan17]

Like everyone else here, I'm not surprised that Daphne is out, based on how infrequently she had been on the show over the course of the last season, but I am so curious as to what exactly happened (details which I will likely never know!), and if her decreased appearances in Season 6 were intended to kind of slowly transition her out of the show.  There have been a couple of references to indicate that Daphne and ABC were in agreement that she would not be returning for Season 7 -- but we all know that there was probably more to it than that.  It was probably not a completely mutual decision that she would leave.  I am guessing that she wanted to stay on The Chew in some capacity, but just keep the appearances limited so she could be with her family and work on Food Network shows, cookbook promotion tours, etc.  ABC was probably not having it.  

Also, Daphne is the nurturing, loving type who will have a big family -- meaning another couple of kids in addition to the first 3 kids, I suspect -- and that would mean even more chunks of time off over the next couple of years, in addition to time off so she can pursue her other gigs.  At that point, she might as well just appear on The Chew as an occasional fill-in guest host instead of as one of the "regulars." 

Maybe that's what will happen -- unless Daphne and ABC parted on bad terms, then perhaps she will come back to sit in as a guest host when one of the other 4 hosts is out (Mario takes a lot of time off too).  Or if they make it to a 10-year anniversary in 2021, Daphne can come back to celebrate with them.

Even though Daphne grew on me over the years, I agree that she is the one out of the 5 hosts that they can stand to lose.   She had her strong moments, and sometimes she contributed some interesting things, but she was the weakest link.   I think she learned a lot in her time on the show, and we kind of watched her grow and evolve and become more comfortable -- but, at times in the first season or two, she was kind of an awkward speaker and was hard to follow.  She would talk too fast or in sudden bursts, or she would talk over someone else and stumble over what she was saying.    I always assumed it was nervousness.  She became a bit more at ease and her awkward speaking smoothed out a little bit (or maybe I just got used to it) as the years rolled on, but I always thought that Carla, Clinton, Michael and Mario were much more at ease with being themselves on camera.

Despite Daphne's increasing absences from the show in Season 6, for some reason I always thought that Mario would be the first to leave, or possibly Clinton.  Carla is the one I assumed would be the last to leave.   I would prefer that none of them leave -- I like the group chemistry -- but I would not be shocked if someone else is gone by Season 8 in September 2018.

Edited August 12, 2017 by TVFan17

[Ciarrai]

I'm not particularly upset by Daphne leaving; I don't feel that she brought much to the show. I didn't mind her at the beginning when she was the "healthy one" who made vegetarian options and healthier choices, but that seemed to go away fairly quickly and I lost interest. In the past two seasons I've found her extremely annoying and vastly preferred it when she wasn't there.

[DkNNy79]

She is my least favorite and IMO brings nothing worthwhile to the table.  I felt like most people just tolerate her because of who her father is.  She was lucky to get that gig.

[biakbiak]

3 hours ago, DkNNy79 said:

I felt like most people just tolerate her because of who her father is.  S

I like her in spite of who her father is because I find him a smarmy quack (his public persona and things he advocates through his show, he has actually saved the lives of three people I know in his day job).

[LemonSoda]

I was bummed to hear Daphne is leaving. She's really grown on me within the last few years and I've really enjoyed her books. 

[FormerMod-a1]

This might explain some of Mario's absences.  

Mario Batali Steps Away From Restaurant Empire Following Sexual Misconduct Allegations

They do say "...where Batali has co-hosted the daytime show The Chew since 2011, has also asked the chef to step away from the show “while we review the allegations that have just recently come to our attention,” a spokesperson said."  Although that seems more recent, but if the other stuff was brewing it could have affected his prior availability.

[Qoass]

Interesting. He was involved in a tip skimming scandal a few years ago for which he had to pay out big but you never would have known it from watching the program.

[FormerMod-a1]

I was wondering if they'd get guest hosts or stick with the 3 others for a while.  Then I thought this would be awful short notice for a guest host, then I thought well they do film in advance so it might not be affected/noticeable for a while, then I thought it is Christmas break soon.  so, ha!  I don't know how I think this will impact the host line-up.  

[HyeChaps]

Surprised. Not surprised. 

[Irlandesa]

I doubt his absences had anything to do with this.  It'd be weird to have him work every other week if it were related to impropriety.  

They manage 3 just fine.  I only wonder if they're going to replace him.  

[General Days]

I appreciate that Mario has acknowledged and taken responsibility for his behavior, or some of it. Like HyeChaps, I feel surprised and not surprised. Damn it.

[FormerMod-a1]

16 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

I doubt his absences had anything to do with this.  It'd be weird to have him work every other week if it were related to impropriety.  

I didn't mean the every other week, just more in general.  For things like the complaint against him at one of the B&B restaurants.  He probably needed time to deal with that.  I know he was also opening more Eatalys so that accounted for a good portion of his off time, too.

[Qoass]

And... he's out.

I'll be cringing on my couch when I watch the next episode. Are they currently running pre-recorded programs? And if so, will they have to dig up some no-Mario repeats to use instead?

 

ETA: He's still all over The Chew website.

Edited December 11, 2017 by Qoass

[General Days]

2 minutes ago, Qoass said:

And... he's out.

I'll be cringing on my couch when I watch the next episode. Are they currently running pre-recorded programs? And if so, will they have to dig up some no-Mario repeats to use instead?

 

ETA: He's still all over The Chew website.

That Yahoo article doesn't say he's out permanently at The Chew. Like the Eater article aquarian1 linked and the following Deadline article, he's supposedly out while ABC reviews allegations. 

From Eater:

Quote

In a statement to Eater, Batali said that he is stepping away from the day-to-day operations of his businesses for an unspecified period of time. ABC, where Batali has co-hosted the daytime show The Chew since 2011, has also asked the chef to step away from the show “while we review the allegations that have just recently come to our attention,” a spokesperson said.

 

From Deadline:

Quote

“We have asked Mario Batali to step away from The Chew while we review the allegations that have just recently come to our attention,” a spokeswoman for ABC said in a statement. “ABC takes matters like this very seriously as we are committed to a safe work environment. While we are unaware of any type of inappropriate behavior involving him and anyone affiliated with the show, we will swiftly address any alleged violations of our standards of conduct.”

 

From Yahoo:

Quote

 

Mario Batali has stepped down as co-host of ABC’s The Chew after four women accused the celebrity chef of sexual misconduct.

 

According to Vox Media’s Eater, four women say Batali touched them inappropriately in a pattern of behavior that allegedly spanned two decades. In response to the report, ABC has asked Batali to step away from The Chew “while we review the allegations that have just recently come to our attention,” per a spokesperson.

 

 

That said, I'd bet a month's mortgage that this will end with him leaving for good. 

[Qoass]

Thanks for clarifying. Still, I can't think of too many people who retreated under controversy and then came back.

I love this show but I concede it is getting long in the tooth. Maybe this would be another point in favor of letting it go.

[Irlandesa]

The Yahoo article was confusing.

I still love the show so maybe it's an opportunity for fresh blood.

[FormerMod-a1]

This news got me thinking about my "dream" cohosts, so I've created a thread to discuss them.

[jcbrown]

No, no, no! Not Mario, too! I liked him.

[TVFan17]

I never looked up any of the details online, but I remembered hearing something about similar accusations towards Mario many, many years ago -- at least, I think they were similar.  But I assumed that those actions and subsequent legal issues were long in the past, and that Mario was no longer doing whatever he was accused of doing.  I assumed that everything had been sufficiently settled, I suppose, to the satisfaction of the accuser, and that Mario had sought treatment or help of some sort.

Again, I never read any details, so I don't know specifically what he was accused of, how bad it was or how it was resolved, but ABC hired him and they probably had some knowledge of his past, so I suppose I naively thought that all was OK now.

If there are more recent accusations -- like from the last few years -- then that would be very unfortunate, as it would mean that Mario did not learn the error of his ways, and continued the bad behavior.

I still really enjoy the show and I don't want to lose it -- in fact, in some ways I think I enjoy certain things about it much more now than I did in its first few seasons -- so I hope it can be saved.  But losing two of the hosts within a few months, and now having to edit Mario out of various montages and clips from previous shows to pretend he didn't exist, IF it turns out that the accusations are all true, is tough.  I mean, technologically speaking, they can cut Mario from the clips.  But can the hosts -- Michael is a longtime friend of Mario -- and the audience pretend that Mario was never there?

If Michael feels that Mario, his friend, was wrongly accused, he might just be the next one out when his contract is up.  He doesn't really need the job either -- he has plenty of other business ventures, and he is already one of the more high profile TV chefs.  So then, if it's down to just Clinton and Carla, while I love them together, the show would need another host, and that could completely throw off the chemistry.

Sadly, I have a bad feeling that this is the beginning of the end for The Chew.  It might take a while for it to completely crumble to pieces, and I hope it does not crumble at all, but there is too much of a risk when bringing in hosts who might not click with the other hosts or with the audience.  

Edited December 11, 2017 by TVFan17

[biakbiak]

2 minutes ago, TVFan17 said:

If Michael feels that Mario, his friend, was wrongly accused, he might just be the next one out when his contract is up.  He doesn't really need the job either -- he has plenty of other business ventures, and he is already one of the more high profile TV chefs.  

Mario admitted that the allegations were true and in the last two months he was reprimanded by his company for another allegation.

[Aileen]

So...anyone else thinking this is why Daphne left so abruptly?

[biakbiak]

5 minutes ago, Aileen said:

So...anyone else thinking this is why Daphne left so abruptly?

No. Not that it means anything but they both comment and like each others posts on IG.

[TVFan17]

37 minutes ago, Aileen said:

So...anyone else thinking this is why Daphne left so abruptly?

I don't know if it is the main reason why, because she did seem to be taking on a lot of other projects as well as growing her family.   And it could be that she wanted more money to sign on again, for another season, which ABC didn't want to pay.  Who knows?  There could have been all sorts of reasons why she suddenly vanished.  

But... during Daphne's entire time on the show, I always had it in the back of my mind that Mario had been accused of some sort of harassment or inappropriate behavior in the past -- which I thought was dealt with, legally, and was a distant memory, and that he was no longer doing that kind of thing.  I always wondered what Daphne thought of it, assuming she read up on Mario's past actions.  She strikes me as a strong, outspoken woman who has a lot of love and emotional support from her entire family, so I think that if Mario had pulled anything with her, specifically, she would have not hesitated to speak up about it right away -- to him, to ABC execs, to her fellow hosts, to staff, to her family, and to anyone who would listen.

Now if Mario was recently engaging in inappropriate behavior, and people were speaking up about it while nothing was being done to deal with it, then Daphne might have wanted to get out of there just because it wouldn't have been an environment she wanted to be in.

This is all just speculation, though.   There are a lot of different ways it all could have played out behind the scenes, both with Daphne's situation and with Mario's.   I think there was definitely something more to why Daphne left -- I never got the feeling that she wanted off the show completely, but maybe just wanted a reduced schedule -- but who knows what was going on?

I kind of think that her exit was not related to Mario.

Edited December 11, 2017 by TVFan17
typo

[Qoass]

I have to believe that Mario has always seen Daphne as he would a daughter. I agree with @TVFan17's speculation that she wanted a reduced role on the show and couldn't come to terms.

[General Days]

28 minutes ago, Aileen said:

So...anyone else thinking this is why Daphne left so abruptly?

I don't think so, at all.

If you read the Eater New York article that aquarian1 first linked, it goes into some detail.

My understanding of it (and some things are not laid out) is that he could be unacceptably crude and/or touchy in his kitchens, particularly at Po.

Then, at least one or two of the allegations have to do with people he worked with (B&B employees or former employees) at other events where there was a lot of alcohol involved. One woman interviewed doubts he can even remember his behavior with her. 

Mario seemed genuinely fond of Daphne. I'm thinking of his clearly tickled reaction to her pregnancy announcements, and she always seemed to respond in kind (and seemingly genuinely, not in a gritted teeth manner).  I suspect he looked at her like a daughter. 

I would not be surprised if this doesn't end with Mario going into alcohol/substance rehab. Still, I suspect we won't see him again, on The Chew. 

Edited December 11, 2017 by General Days

[Aileen]

To me, it seemed like his behavior with Daphne changed over the years from more paternal to a bit cringe-worthy at times. I know that the article states that all of this behavior occurred at his restaurants, but I find it hard to believe that he could turn it on and off like that between the restaurants and behind the scenes at the show.

[biakbiak]

5 minutes ago, Aileen said:

To me, it seemed like his behavior with Daphne changed over the years from more paternal to a bit cringe-worthy at times. I know that the article states that all of this behavior occurred at his restaurants, but I find it hard to believe that he could turn it on and off like that between the restaurants and behind the scenes at the show.

I for one wasn't suggesting that he only behaves this way at his restaurants, I am suggesting that I dont think this is the reason Daphne left. If it was, i cant imagine that they would have been so flat footed in their response. Even though news leaked over the weekend but even this morning he was all over The Chew's FB page. 

[raiderred1]

I don't doubt Mario has done the things he is being accused of but then again I have never liked him so, meh, to him leaving. Hola dude.

[FormerMod-a1]

In the first couple of seasons he got a little pervy with a couple of guests on air.  Like standing behind them, showing them how to use the rolling pin (meaning he was right behind them, with his arms on either side, holding the rolling pin in front of them and then rolling it back and forth with the requisite body movements, too.)  He seemed to be friends with these guests, but it still jumped out to me and I'm usually the last to notice these things.  It only happened a couple of times (on air) that I remember, but you never know if he was talked to about it even if only for the "optics" and daytime TV and blah blah blah.  And now we know more.  So, I'm not surprised either.

[BW Manilowe]

23 hours ago, biakbiak said:

I for one wasn't suggesting that he only behaves this way at his restaurants, I am suggesting that I dont think this is the reason Daphne left. If it was, i cant imagine that they would have been so flat footed in their response. Even though news leaked over the weekend but even this morning he was all over The Chew's FB page.

Mario may have still been all over the show's FB page this morning, but there was a "disclaimer" (I think that's the word I want) type of thing, involving Clinton, Carla, & Michael, & talking about how there are now sexual misconduct accusations against Mario & he's had to step down from both his restaurant group & the show until the current investigation into what may/may not have happened is finished. I think they were trying to sound like they were supporting him. Unfortunately I can't find it posted to, like, YouTube in case somebody missed it.

I also heard they're either not showing repeats for now, or else the ones they show won't include Mario (& I don't see how they can edit him out of existing eps without losing enough show content that they have to fill the missing time with more commercials, or something); so I hope they have enough older, but still reasonably current, eps where he wasn't on the show at all that they can air. They were probably gonna go on their Christmas/New Year's hiatus soon, I would think.

And the other thing I heard was PBS is now apparently holding off on the Molto Mario reboot (airing it?) until everything's been investigated.

[biakbiak]

4 minutes ago, BW Manilowe said:

Mario may have still been all over the show's FB page this morning, but there was a "disclaimer" (I think that's the word I want) type of thing, involving Clinton, Carla, & Michael, & talking about how there are now sexual misconduct accusations against Mario & he's had to step down from both his restaurant group & the show until the current investigation into what may/may not have happened is finished. I think they were trying to sound like they were supporting him. Unfortunately I can't find it posted to, like, YouTube in case somebody missed it.

The post you quoted was from yesterday, the "disclaimer" which was from the top of today's show was posted this morning. 

The Chew typically doesn't have a hiatus for Christmas and New Years. They are pre-empted for a few episodes and then have prerecorded but new episodes for the other days. 

[FormerMod-a1]

While this is all related to what's been recently reported (so makes sense here in the Media thread) I don't want it to take over. Plus I think there'll be more discussion of him than just what's been in the media.  For these reasons I have created Mario thread.  Please take further discussion of Mario there.  Thanks.

[biakbiak]

11 hours ago, TVFan17 said:

eems like we could possibly find out in the next couple of months or so if the show is returning for an 8th season.   If

The show is definitely coming back for at least an 8th season for daytime tv the process is different and much more notice is given because the contracts between the networks and affiliates is different than it is in primetime. 

Edited May 1, 2018 by biakbiak

[TVFan17]

17 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

The show is definitely coming back for at least an 8th season for daytime tv the process is different and much more notice is given because the contracts between the networks and affiliates is different than it is in primetime. 

 

You just said in your post from April 24th, "Maybe they will be cancelled" -- so I didn't realize that the official word about a renewal for Season 8 had come in.

Edited May 1, 2018 by TVFan17

[biakbiak]

5 minutes ago, TVFan17 said:

You just said in your post from April 24th, "Maybe they will be cancelled" -- so I didn't realize that the official word about a renewal for Season 8 had come in.

As in there won't be a season 9. 

[Irlandesa]

Yeah, we still might get new people for next season but it will be shocking to me if The Chew isn't on the schedule come September. 

In theory, it could still be cancelled.  Guiding Light was cancelled at the beginning of April.  However, usually there are rumblings of what could replace the show.  There's something in development. I haven't heard of anything being developed that could potentially air during the day.  So either ABC would have to move GH, again, and give back an hour to affiliates or they'd have to have another show fill in the noon hour.

[TVFan17]

5 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Yeah, we still might get new people for next season but it will be shocking to me if The Chew isn't on the schedule come September. 

In theory, it could still be cancelled.  Guiding Light was cancelled at the beginning of April.  However, usually there are rumblings of what could replace the show.  There's something in development. I haven't heard of anything being developed that could potentially air during the day.  So either ABC would have to move GH, again, and give back an hour to affiliates or they'd have to have another show fill in the noon hour.

I, personally, assumed (and hoped) The Chew would return, and was waiting for an official announcement or telltale reference to confirm it.    The comment "Maybe they will be cancelled"  kind of threw me off, as I didn't think it was referring to pre-Season 9 in 2019 -- I assumed it was referring to the period of time in between when Season 7 ends and Season 8 starts in September of this year.   So when I first saw that comment I thought there might have been some doubt about the show's fate.

[FormerMod-a1]

I wonder if they'll try to find a 4th co-host.  Will we be surprised next Sept with a 4th, or with a rotation of guest hosts (please no)?  I like these 3, but do still feel like something is missing.  We do have a thread for Dream Cohost, but it's not like they'll listen to us.  :-P 

[Irlandesa]

5 hours ago, TVFan17 said:

I, personally, assumed (and hoped) The Chew would return, and was waiting for an official announcement or telltale reference to confirm it.    The comment "Maybe they will be cancelled"  kind of threw me off, as I didn't think it was referring to pre-Season 9 in 2019 -- I assumed it was referring to the period of time in between when Season 7 ends and Season 8 starts in September of this year.   So when I first saw that comment I thought there might have been some doubt about the show's fate.

I totally get it.  But there isn't always an announcement. When I Google "The View renewed" the newest article I could find was from two years ago announcing a renewal for the Fall of 2016.  Yet clearly that show is still going strong.  If you Google "The Chew renewed" the latest article I find was from 2012 where it announced renewals for GH, this show and the cancellation of another show for Katie Couric (the backup for the other show that launched when The Chew launched with Tim Gunn.)

So it looks like whether or not they make a big deal about renewal is kind of sporadic.

2 hours ago, aquarian1 said:

Will we be surprised next Sept with a 4th, or with a rotation of guest hosts (please no)?

I would have thought they would have started that this year if they were going to do the guest host rotation so the new person would be set for thew new season...promotional materials and all that jazz. 

Edited May 2, 2018 by Irlandesa

[TVFan17]

3 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I totally get it.  But there isn't always an announcement. When I Google "The View renewed" the newest article I could find was from two years ago announcing a renewal for the Fall of 2016.  Yet clearly that show is still going strong.  If you Google "The Chew renewed" the latest article I find was from 2012 where it announced renewals for GH, this show and the cancellation of another show for Katie Couric (the backup for the other show that launched when The Chew launched with Tim Gunn.)

So it looks like whether or not they make a big deal about renewal is kind of sporadic.

I would have thought they would have started that this year if they were going to do the guest host rotation so the new person would be set for thew new season...promotional materials and all that jazz. 

 

 

By "announcement" I mean any kind of reference to a new season, or a mention of something happening next season that would make it clear that a new season is coming.   

I mentioned this in the other thread (where my comments were before some of them were moved here to this thread), and I don't think that specific comment was carried over to this thread -- but take last year as an example.   What happened in 2017 was that they essentially "announced" (and that term is loosely applied) that there would be a Season 7 when they mentioned the shows that would be taking place at Disney World/Epcot Food & Wine Festival (and the contest or whatever was happening in connection to the shows at Epcot).  They mentioned the Food & Wine/Epcot shows near the end of Season 6 (in June), and they went to Epcot in the fall (Season 7).  So, in my opinion, that mention of the Epcot week near the end of Season 6 was the announcement of Season 7.   That was the announcement by default, or the confirmation that I was looking for.

In other words, I didn't necessarily mean that there always have to be articles about series renewals all the time, but just some sort of reference to clue the audience in to a new season coming up -- it could even be something mentioned in passing by one of the cast members on their social media pages.   Informal or formal announcements.    That's why I said above, in the comment you quoted,  "...official announcement or telltale reference..."    I guess "confirmation" would be a better word to use than "announcement", possibly.

Again, I assumed and hoped the show would be back for Season 8, but was thrown off by the ""Maybe they will be cancelled" comment in the other thread, and thought that it would be helpful to everyone when we got some sort of confirmation -- formal or informal -- if there had been any doubts. 

 

Speaking of social media, does anyone follow Clinton's "Basic Grammar for Basic Bitches" videos on Instagram??   He has done several of these clips, where he (very humorously) calls out people who have written to him and insulted him (using poor grammar or misspelled words in their messages), etc.   They're hilarious.  He seems to have stopped doing them for a while.  I don't believe that the haters have stopped insulting him, so he could have just decided to take a a break from the BGBB series.

Edited May 2, 2018 by TVFan17

[Jaded]

The show has been cancelled.

http://tvline.com/2018/05/23/the-chew-cancelled-season-8-abc/

[break21]

4 minutes ago, Jaded said:

The show has been cancelled.

http://tvline.com/2018/05/23/the-chew-cancelled-season-8-abc/

When they didn't replace Mario I figured it's days were numbered.  

[jcbrown]

This makes me sad.

[biakbiak]

19 minutes ago, Jaded said:

The show has been cancelled.

http://tvline.com/2018/05/23/the-chew-cancelled-season-8-abc/

I am surprised that they did it for this season. I guess because it airs at 12 pm here it didn’t occur to me that they could replace it by expanding GMA. 

They just made a joke on yesterday’s show about next season.