‘Red Table Talk’ canceled as Meta shuts down Facebook Watch originals
“Red Table Talk” was canceled this week as Meta shut down its Facebook Watch original programs, according to the company.
A representative for Meta confirmed to The Times that Facebook Watch was shuttered and said the company would continue to focus on its original virtual reality content, but declined to comment further.
Mina Lefevre, who was head of development and programming, has departed the company, according to Deadline, which was first to report the news.
‘I’m using this moment to give our alopecia family an opportunity to talk about this,’ Jada Pinkett Smith said on Wednesday’s ‘Red Table Talk’ series.
But the show could go on. Co-host Jada Pinkett Smith, who is also an executive producer on the show, wrote in an Instagram post on Thursday, “We at ‘Red Table’ are in talks of finding a new home” to carry the show.
“We are so grateful to have had such a beautiful partnership with Facebook Watch and we are sorry to see the entire team disband,” Pinkett Smith wrote. “We wish everyone well in their new journeys to come.”
“We’ll see you soon,” Pinkett Smith added.
Launched in May 2018, “Red Table Talk” during its five-season run starred three generations of women: Pinkett Smith, her daughter, Willow Smith, and Adrienne Banfield-Norris, Pinkett Smith’s mother. The trio led discussions about topics including motherhood, grief, mental illness, systemic racism and gun violence.
It’s the Facebook owner’s second major round of job cuts in the last six months.
The show featured high-profile guests who confronted these topics with them, such as Chelsea Handler talking about her white privilege, Lauren London on coping with the loss of longtime partner Nipsey Hussle, and Robyn Crawford on her relationship with Whitney Houston. The series spawned a spinoff called “Red Table Talk: The Estefans” with singer Gloria Estefan, her daughter Emily Estefan and Lili Estefan, her niece.
Most famously, Pinkett Smith and her husband, actor Will Smith, sat down in 2020 at the Red Table where they talked about their marriage, including Pinkett Smith’s relationship with R&B singer August Alsina while she and Smith were separated. The episode has been viewed more than 49 million times.
Pinkett Smith also addressed the Oscar winner’s onstage slap of Chris Rock during the 2022 Oscars and shared her experiences with alopecia, which was the subject of Rock’s joke.
Jada Pinkett Smith confirms she had a romantic relationship with singer-songwriter August Alsina — but she and Will Smith both say they’ve worked through it.
Meta has been downsizing in recent months, announcing it would lay off about 10,000 employees in March and in November laying off another 11,000 as a way to increase its profits. As a part of those efforts, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company would be flattening the organization, canceling lower-priority projects and slowing hiring,
Other Facebook original shows that were not renewed include docuseries from JoJo Siwa, Yara Shahidi and Becky G, as well as a talk show hosted by Steve Harvey called “Steve on Watch.”
“Red Table Talk” was produced by Westbrook, a company founded by Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. Westbrook also has co-produced movies starring Smith, such as the Oscar-nominated “King Richard” and the recent civil war slavery drama “Emancipation.”
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