Though she's embroiled in a messy sexual harassment legal scandal -- and her deal with VH1 seemed to have faded into obscurity -- Wendy Williams is still prevailing with her full scale media assault.The syndicated radio personality (and self-appointed "Queen of All Media") will hit the big time with the inking of a new deal for her own show on Fox Television.
Announced today by Frank Cicha, Fox 's Senior Vice President of Programming, the deal will entail for the media giant to co-produce a six-week preview of 'The Wendy Williams Show,' a daily, one-hour entertainment talk show starring the shock jock and broadcast live from New York City.The deal is a partnership with Debmar-Mercury, the worldwide production and distribution media company specializing in syndication, cable, network, VOD/Pay-Per-View and PayTV.
The company is responsible for setting ratings records with the TBS series 'Tyler Perry's House of Payne.'
Starting July 14, the sneak peek will be available on the Fox-owned stations in New York (WNYW), Los Angeles (KTTV), Dallas (KDFW) and Detroit (WJBK). 'The Wendy Williams Show' will feature Williams' commentary on celebrity gossip and news events, as well as interviews, fashion and advice segments in which Williams will help audience members and viewers handle personal life issues involving sex, relationships, money and dating.
Tyra Banks and Maury Pouvich better make way.And Wendy Williams is bringing some heavy machinery with her.
Emmy Award winning talk show veteran Rob Dauber, formerly co-executive producer of 'Martha' and supervising producer of 'Oprah Winfrey' and 'Rosie O'Donnell,' will serve as executive producer.
Williams and her husband/manager, Kevin Hunter – who the sexual harassment complaint (by former assistant/part-time publicist Nicole Spence) was lodged against –- are also listed as producers of the show.
"I'm so excited about my new television program. My loyal fans and I have been through a lot together over the years – they have been so good to me and I know they will be excited about this project as well. We are going to have so much fun together."
With a radio career spanning 20 years, including 15 on the air in New York City, Williams has seen it all, said it all, and done it all. And for that, her loyal legions of listeners continue to have an insatiable appetite for the former drug-offending glamazon.
Her trials and tribulations off and on the microphone were chronicled in two 'New York Times' best-selling memoirs, respectively and she even tried her hand at penning two paperback novels with Pulitzer Prize winning scribe Karen Hunter.
She hosted a short-lived series of off-again, on-again specials for VH1, and starred in the Queen Latifah-produced movie 'The Cookout.'
A spokesperson for Alize cognac, the Northwestern University alum is the subject of a forthcoming biopic starring Robin Givens.
As a nationally syndicated on-air personality, the award-winning Ocean Township, New Jersey native can be heard in seven markets, including Los Angeles.
1. Wendy, better have some serious paper stack because Nichole is going to take her too the cleaners.
Lisa at 8:05PM on Apr 21st 2008