Not content with sitting back and enjoying the success of their recent hit YouTube documentary series, Demi Lovato: Dancing With the Devil, and uncovering the truth about aliens in the coming reality show for Peacock, Unidentified With Demi Lovato, Demi Lovato is about to add “talk show host” to their resume.
The 28-year-old singer’s latest project, The Demi Lovato Show, will premiere on July 30 on Roku Channel. Following in the footsteps of Kelly Clarkson and Drew Barrymore, two entertainers who pivoted to hosting talk shows, Lovato’s show will feature the likes of British actress and activist Jameela Jamil, and will tackle subjects such as mental health and other issues close to Lovato’s heart.
“Some conversations can be difficult,” Lovato, 28, said about the show, “but I’ve never been one to shy away from speaking candidly about things."
We take a look at 10 celebrities who swapped the stage, reality TV, Saturday Night Live and hip-hop for hosting duties on the chat-show circuit …
1. Lily Allen
She might have a Grammy nomination and three Ivor Novello awards under her belt, but musical success didn’t translate on to the small screen for British pop star Lily Allen. The singer, 36, who married Stranger Things actor David Harbour last year, hosted a BBC Three talk show, Lily Allen and Friends, back in 2008. Despite featuring guests such as actors Martin Freeman and Cuba Gooding Jr, and musical acts including Adele and Mark Ronson, the show lasted for only one season.
2. Queen Latifah
The hip-hop singer made the move into acting, starring as Khadijah James in the Fox TV show Living Single, which ran from 1993 to 1998, and continued to release music while starring in an array of films, including Beauty Shop and Last Holiday. Latifah then took two runs at talk show success, with The Queen Latifah Show first airing from 1999 to 2001, and again from 2013 to 2015, before low ratings led it to be cancelled. Fun fact: the show’s set was designed by Lenny Kravitz’s design company, Kravitz Design.
3. Chevy Chase
Comedy actor Chase, 77, has country legend Dolly Parton to thank for the chance to switch from actor to talk show host. Parton had been offered the gig, but suggested Saturday Night Live alumnus Chase instead, and The Chevy Chase Show was born in 1993. Despite attracting an A-list slew of guests including Goldie Hawn, Billie Jean King, Robert De Niro and Jamie Lee Curtis, the show was taken off air after only five weeks.
4. Megan Mullally
Another star whose accent played a huge part in her success was Mullally, 62, whose portrayal of the gossipy, interfering Karen Walker on Will & Grace won her a legion of fans. The double Emmy award-winner hosted her daytime talk show, The Megan Mullally Show, in 2006. The first episode featured comedy actor Will Ferrell wearing only his underpants, and the show lasted only four months, with viewers apparently turned off by the fact Mullally was nothing like her sitcom alter-ego Walker.
5. Fran Drescher
Colloquially called The Fran Drescher Tawk Show in honour of her signature Queens, New York, accent, Drescher, 63, was unable to capitalise on her small screen success with her chat show in 2010. The Nanny actress’s foray into helming a talk show lasted only three weeks before it was pulled from the air. Interestingly, her house band was led by Rami Jaffee, the keyboardist for alt rockers the Foo Fighters.
6. Kris Jenner
Having overseen the most successful reality show of all time, written a cookbook and become synonymous with the term “momager”, Jenner, 65, turned her hand to hosting in 2013. Despite one of the episodes of Kris featuring her son-in-law Kanye West showing a photo of daughter North West for the first time, the Kardashian matriarch’s talk show was a ratings failure. Bolstered by constant appearances by the Kardashian-Jenner clan, Kris ran for a six-week trial on Fox, but wasn’t picked up, with Fox programming executive, Frank Cicha, telling The Hollywood Reporter: “I think she was pretty uninteresting.”
7. Jimmy Fallon
He’s been a stalwart on the talk show circuit for seven years, since The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon premiered in February 2014, but Fallon, 46, had a long career in comedy before chat show hosting duties came knocking. The Saturday Night Live alumnus appeared in the films Almost Famous, Taxi and Whip It, before taking the reins at The Tonight Show, which was previously hosted by Johnny Carson and Jay Leno.
8. Kelly Clarkson
From American Idol’s first season winner to talk show host via a stellar singing and TV career, Clarkson, 39, has proved she has the personality required to carry a show bearing her name. The Kelly Clarkson Show has scooped two Daytime Emmys and featured guests such as Dwayne Johnson, Jennifer Garner and Tyler Perry. Her “Kellyoke” slot, in which she covers famous songs, is a hit with fans.
9. Busy Philipps
The Dawson’s Creek and Cougar Town actress, 42, threw her hat into the late-night talk show ring in 2018, with Busy Tonight on the E! channel. Despite being heavily championed by her four-time Oscar-nominated best friend Michelle Williams, and the presence of big-hitters including guests Julia Roberts, Kim Kardashian West and Tracee Ellis Ross, the show was cancelled after seven months.
10. Drew Barrymore
Renewed for its second season in March this year, The Drew Barrymore Show launched at the height of the pandemic, with Barrymore, 46, telling Variety magazine of the challenge: “I think the limitations of the pandemic made us a more modern show. When forced to think differently, we tried to turn every obstacle into an opportunity.” The first show featured Barrymore’s Charlie’s Angels co-stars Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu, as well as her The Wedding Singer and 50 First Dates co-star Adam Sandler.
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