'The Talk' taps Elaine Welteroth, Amanda Kloots as new hosts - Los Angeles Times
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‘The Talk’ welcomes new cohosts Elaine Welteroth and Amanda Kloots to CBS chat show

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CBS is giving “The Talk” fans something to talk about this week.

On Tuesday, the network named journalist Elaine Welteroth and fitness instructor Amanda Kloots as new cohosts of the popular daytime program. Starting Jan. 4, the pair will join current emcees Sharon Osbourne, Sheryl Underwood and Carrie Ann Inaba for the 11th season of “The Talk.”

“OMG MOM I GOT THE JOB,” an ecstatic Welteroth announced on Twitter after calling her mother, who had assumed she was pregnant when her daughter teased the big news in a hilarious video. “Sooo, I guess I’ll be seeing you guys in your homes on national freaking television EVERY DAY!!

“Not quite the announcement my mom was expecting but she’s thrilled (swipe to see what I mean😂),” she added. “This is unequivocally, one hundred percent a God Thing and there is no other way to put it. Landed in LA less than a month ago for more life and got blessed with the kind of divine assignment I never saw coming!”

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Kloots, a former Broadway performer and Radio City Rockette, also expressed her excitement on social media after guest hosting “The Talk” multiple times alongside Welteroth. The newly minted castmates will replace ex-host Marie Osmond, who announced her departure after one season, and Eve, who revealed last month that she too would be exiting the series in December after three seasons.

“I am thrilled and honored to join this incredible cast and crew,” Kloots wrote on Instagram. “From the very first time I guest co-hosted on The Talk I knew I was amongst a very special group of people.

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“I look forward to starting on the new year with honest and thought provoking discussions, mixed with plenty of fun and laughter! To end this year with this news, this special gift is unbelievable. My angel in heaven is certainly looking out for us.”

In 2016, bestselling “More Than Enough” author Welteroth made history as the then-youngest person and second Black journalist to be appointed editor-in-chief of a Condé Nast publication: Teen Vogue. And Kloots rose to prominence earlier this year while documenting her late husband Nick Cordero‘s turbulent battle with COVID-19.

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“The minute I sat down next to these incredibly warm, dynamic women ... I knew there was something special brewing,” Welteroth wrote on Instagram. “I can’t even express how humbled, how in awe, how excited, and how much JOY I feel to have the opportunity to join them EVERY DAY on a platform that reaches outside of my own echo chamber and into the hearts and minds of households all across this country, a platform that cultivates connection, kindness, and understanding in a singular moment in our world when we need it most.

“Bonus: I get to do it with my new friend and fellow NEW CO-HOST @amandakloots who is the epitome of light in dark times. So proud to sit beside her as we go on this new adventure together.”

Heather Gray, co-showrunner of “The Talk,” also released a statement Tuesday welcoming Kloots and Welteroth to the CBS family while praising their “amazing energy, interesting points of view and a willingness to share their personal life experiences.”

“Their diverse backgrounds and bright personalities bring an authentic chemistry to the panel,” added co-showrunner Kristin Matthews. “Heather and I, along with Sharon, Sheryl and Carrie Ann, are excited to have these dynamic, intelligent and fearless women connect with our audience.”

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