CTV’s long-standing daytime talk show “The Social” is making big changes ahead of its 14th season that will have it looking very different.
Bell Media announced Wednesday that it will “reimagine” the series. That means there will be no more studio audience, founding co-host Melissa Grelo will be leaving, and the talk show will be relaunching as a video podcast that will also continue to air on broadcast television.
Bell says Grelo is leaving to focus on her health podcast, “Aging Powerfully with Melissa Grelo.”
The significant changes come before the start of the new season on Sept. 9.
Representatives for Bell Media did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but its announcement noted that the show would continue to film on its existing Toronto set at the broadcaster’s headquarters on Queen Street West.
The reimagined version will broadcast on CTV, and be made available on Crave, iHeartRadio Canada platforms, and “The Social” YouTube channel.
Grelo posted a message on her Instagram account, saying that after 13 seasons on “The Social” and 18 years at Bell Media, “it is time to move on.” She called the show “one of the great privileges of my career.”
“But I’ve also always believed that when the world around you is changing, you can either hold tightly to what has been, or get curious about what comes next,” she wrote.
“The way we create, consume and connect through media is changing dramatically. I am enormously grateful to the network for saying yes to my idea all those years ago and for working with me to build what ‘The Social’ has become.”
“The Social” began airing in 2013 as Canada’s answer to “The View” and “The Talk,” two popular female-led lifestyle shows that tackled the hot topics of the day. In recent years, its daily program has been repurposed to be shared on social media, and distributed through streaming platform Crave.
Some of its original co-hosts have also departed the program over the years, including Lainey Lui and Traci Melchor. With Grelo’s departure, only Cynthia Loyst remains from the original four. She will continue to host the program alongside Jess Allen and Andrea Bain, who will take hosting duties on the revival of “Big Brother Canada,” which begins on CTV next summer.
Bell Media has been growing its selection of video podcasts, part of a wider industry trend led by the popularity of the format on YouTube and the recent entry of Netflix into the space.
Earlier this year, Crave began rolling out nearly a dozen podcasts to the service, including editions of rush-hour sports radio show “OverDrive,” gay Canadian pop culture series “Bestie, Listen” and a weekly best-of edition of its “Your Morning” morning show. All of the shows were already available on YouTube. “The Social” was already on the platform in its full video format.
“As the reach and influence of video podcasts grows globally, this evolution was the natural next step for ‘The Social,’ allowing the series to expand and reach Canadian and international audiences on the platform of their choice,” said executive producer Laura Scarfo in a release.
