Jada Pinkett Smith announced on Thursday that her Emmy-winning talk show “Red Table Talk” is searching for a new home after Facebook Watch’s decision to end all original programming. The social media site’s shutdown of original programming is part of cost-cutting measures at parent company Meta that are expected to affect around 10,000 jobs.
“We are so grateful to have had such a beautiful partnership with Facebook Watch, and we are sorry to see the entire team disband,” the “Matrix” actress wrote on her Instagram. “We wish everyone well in their new journeys to come. We at ‘Red Table’ are in talks of finding a new home, and we’ll see you soon.”
The show, produced by Westbrook Studios, premiered on Facebook in 2018 and featured Jada Pinkett Smith, her mother Adrienne Banfield-Norris, and her daughter Willow Smith. The show’s more than 120 episodes have tackled social and cultural issues with an inter-generational perspective, and the show has hosted celebrities and experts in various fields.
A New Beginning
In the changing TV landscape, it’s not uncommon for a canceled show to find a new home somewhere else. The show has 11 million followers on Facebook and has produced a spinoff hosted by Gloria Estefan and her family called “Red Table Talk: The Estefans.” Jada Pinkett Smith told Rolling Stone two years ago that “Broadening the empire” was her next goal, so we can expect to see her return soon.
Despite the end of “Red Table Talk’s” partnership with Facebook, the social media site is still focused on original content in VR (virtual reality), according to a Meta spokesperson. The world of television is evolving, and with it, the opportunities for content creators. Jada Pinkett Smith and her team are sure to find a new home for their show and continue to deliver thought-provoking content.
Jada Pinkett Smith has found herself at the center of the media cycle over the last year for an entirely different reason when her husband Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the 2022 Academy Awards. The incident occurred after a joke the comedian told about Pinkett Smith, leading to Smith being banned from the awards show for a decade and the couple becoming fodder for jokes in Rock’s stand-up special a year later.
In conclusion, the end of “Red Table Talk’s” partnership with Facebook may be the end of an era, but it’s also the beginning of a new chapter. We look forward to seeing Jada Pinkett Smith and her team continue to tackle social and cultural issues with their inter-generational perspective.
