After 15 successful seasons, it’s time to talk about the end of The Talk.
Akbar Gbajabiamila, Amanda Kloots, Natalie Morales, Jerry O’Connell and Sheryl Underwood are preparing to say goodbye to the long-running CBS series on Friday, December 20. Before that final episode tapes, however, the cohosts are looking back on their unforgettable experience on daytime TV.
“We have and we had such great chemistry,” Morales, 52, exclusively told Us Weekly ahead of the show’s series finale. “I think it always boils down to the team around you and the chemistry and we all brought something so unique and different. I think everybody has such a unique background.”
Kloots, 42, joined the show in 2021 and is already asking for enough tissues to last her throughout the final week of filming.
The Talk has been a daytime TV staple since it premiered in 2010. The show first aired with Sara Gilbert, Holly Robinson Peete, Leah Remini, Julie Chen and Sharon Osbourne as cohosts, but that panel has changed several times since then. The Talk returned for season 11 in September 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic. Osbourne, […]
“I feel like each day is going to be emotional,” she told Us. “I think each day they’re going to highlight us with a montage. Montages always get me. I think each day is going to be a hard one.”
Before their final goodbye, Kloots and her cohosts were able to chat with Us and share some of their favorite memories filming the daytime talk show. They also gave a tease of what’s to come as they remain in the entertainment industry — and continue their group chat.
“These are forever friends,” O’Connell, 50, proclaimed. “I don’t think this is over. It is funny when a job ends though because you have to go out and make plans now to see each other. But it is going to be funny if we see a story that we normally talk about at work. I’m going to be sending it to you guys!”
Sheryl Underwood
For nearly 13 years, Underwood, 61, brought her humor and point of view to The Talk.
“We’ve learned a lot from each other,” the comedian told Us before kicking off her 2025 comedy tour dates. “I look at this as a great evolution. It’s time for us. A phenomenal journalist [Natalie], actor, father [Jerry]. You’re talking about Broadway star [Amanda]. Akbar, football player. Me coming in at season two. We came for our time. We did what we needed to do. Now Godspeed to great things.”
Before she leaves the studio for good, Underwood joked that she’s going to borrow some holiday decor from the set.
“You see that Christmas tree behind you? It’s going to look like the ribs on the Flinstone’s car,” she joked. “I’m going to put it right on the top of my car.”
Akbar Gbajabiamila
While the former NFL player loved creating memorable moments with special guests like Kelly Rowland, Steve Harvey and Montell Jordan, Gbajabiamila, 45, will remember the friends who made him a better host and coworker.
“I’m going to miss watching Natalie and her professionalism and how she handles things,” the American Ninja Warrior host told Us. “She’s somebody that I always watched and just admired from afar. The camaraderie that I have with Amanda. We’re closest in chairs and you don’t have people like that in Los Angeles, per se. Just this cool, Midwest person that’s very relatable.”
Gbajabiamila called O’Connell a “cool cheerleader” and praised Underwood’s priceless advice that it’s about “consistency” and “chemistry” in daytime TV.
Natalie Morales
Morales is grateful The Talk allowed her to “let loose and have some fun” when so many viewers were used to seeing her as “News Natalie.”
She’s also happy the show was a place where celebrity guests could visit and feel comfortable being themselves.
“Whenever people come out here, they just love the opportunity to just bond with us,” Morales explained. “Our guests have always just appreciated that this is not a gotcha show. This is not a show that’s here to get a headline. We’re here to let them be free and have fun with us, and we have fun everyday.”
Morales plans to continue working with CBS and is expected to appear more on 48 Hours, CBS Mornings and other programs.
Amanda Kloots
When looking back on all the guests that appeared on The Talk, Kloots can’t believe she met her childhood crush.
“I loved when Mark McGrath was on the show,” she told Us. “I had a picture of him on my planner in high school and I confessed to him on air, ‘You were my high school crush!’ And also, Zack Morris [Mark-Paul Gosselaar] when he was on our show. It’s so funny to meet these people that in high school, I didn’t miss a Saturday morning of Saved By the Bell. Same with Tiffani Thiessen when she was here.”
Looking towards the future, Kloots will continue to work in the health and wellness space and host Live From the Other Side With Tyler Henry on Netflix.
Jerry O’Connell
While O’Connell loved interviewing celebrities and chatting with his cohosts, he wanted to give one special shoutout to The Talk’s wardrobe department.
“The clothes we wear are so cool,” he told Us. “Now when I go out to lunch with my wife, she’s going to be so disappointed because it’s just going to be me and my ripped t-shirts again and my dirty vans.”
Looking ahead, O’Connell is excited to begin taking playwriting classes. He’ll also continue being a volleyball dad to his 15-year-old twin daughters Charlie and Dolly.
“It’s tough to keep my kids playing volleyball. They’re not into it anymore,” he said. “I just have teenage daughters who actually said yesterday, ‘We’re thinking about quitting.’ [And I said] ‘Well, what about the last four years of my life and me driving you everywhere? What about that?’”
The Talk airs on CBS weekdays at 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT with the final episode scheduled for Friday, December 20.
With reporting by Lanae Brody
