Fans of ‘The Wendy Williams Show’ tuned in daily to not only see the daytime diva deliver her signature brand of hot topics but also to see producer and hype woman, Suzanne Bass, as well as producer, Norman Baker.
So when Sherri Shepherd took over Wendy’s spot and inherited the entire ‘Wendy’ staff and crew for her show ‘Sherri,’ fans were elated.
Now, it appears that as season 1 of her talk show is wrapping up, Sherri is making some changes for season 2 that some might not be so happy about.
Shepherd inherited Williams’ longtime executive producers David Perler and Suzanne Bass — who also appeared with Williams on camera daily — as EPs for her show when it premiered last fall.
Sources told Page Six they got the axe this week, as Season 1 of “Sherri” comes to a close at the end of this month.
We’re told Shepherd naturally wanted “fresh energy” for her new season.
The decision doesn’t come as a surprise for Perler, we hear, since he stayed on “to help get through the hump of launching a new show,” according to one source.
Bass was more of a “sidekick and buffer” to Williams’ former “Hot Topics” act, which isn’t as useful for Shepherd, who is also a comedian and actress, we’re told.
“Suzanne was on camera for a decade with Wendy,” another source said.
But Shepherd’s producer bestie, Jawn Murray — a TV commentator who is new to executive producing — partially took on that role when Shepherd brought him in.
A spokesperson for Debmar-Mercury — the production company behind both the Williams and Shepherd shows — told us, “we will announce a new executive producer for the second season to serve alongside [Murray].”
The statement further said that Perler and Bass “have been integral to Debmar-Mercury’s success in daytime syndication for many years and have helped launch ‘Sherri’… Debmar Mercury wishes them all the best on future endeavors and hopes to work with them in the future.”
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As longtime Wendy fans who loved seeing Suzanne on camera, we’re not too thrilled to hear this. What are your thoughts?
