Rachael Ray is ready ‘to move on’ from daytime TV and already cooking up new ventures
Rachael Ray is ending her old talk show after more than a decade, but food will still be her meat and potatoes.
CBS announced Friday that the “30 Minute Meals” star will end her self-titled talk show after its current 17th season.
“In my 20+ years in television, I’ve had 17 wonderful seasons on daytime television with ‘Rachael,'” she said. in a press release. “However, I have made the decision that it is time to move on to the next exciting chapter in my broadcasting career.”
Ray’s announcement came hours later Deadline was announced on Friday that the Food Network personality would launch Free Food Studios, a production company.
According to his website, Free Food Studios will focus on “original content in the food space.” In Friday’s announcement, Ray said her “passions have evolved” into a platform she says is “unfettered by traditional distribution rules.”
Ray said she also plans to “develop new and emerging epicurean talent”.
The cooking guru’s daytime show premiered on September 18, 2006. In its 17 years on the air, “Rachael Ray” earned more than 30 Daytime Emmy nominations and won Outstanding Talk Show three times.
CBS hasn’t yet revealed when the final episode of Ray’s show will air, but the longtime television host gave her fans something to look forward to.
“We have even more new shows this year and more smiles to come,” she wrote in a Instagram photo on Tuesday. The photo was of Ray hugging husband and singer John Cusimano.
Ray’s announcement comes a month after CBS announced that Dr. Phil McGraw also ends his daytime TV show.
“I’ve been blessed with more than 25 wonderful years in daytime television,” said 72-year-old McGraw in the rack. “With this show, we have helped thousands of guests and millions of viewers with everything from addiction and marriage to mental wellbeing and raising children. This has been an incredible chapter of my life and career, but as I move on from the daytime, there’s so much more I want to do.