Nellie Andreeva

In an unusual move, Lionsgate-owned Debmar-Mercury is adding two months of original episodes to the fourth season of The Wendy Williams Show, extending production through June and July. The move is aimed at keeping the momentum of the daytime syndicated talk show, which just posted ratings highs and the biggest gains of any syndie talk show during the February sweeps. Wendy finished as the fourth-highest-rated metered market talk show among women 25-54, averaging a 1.1/7 during the month. That was up 47% in the demo from the November 2012 sweep. The ratings climb started with the expansion in mid-December of the Wendy fan-favorite “Hot Topics” segment. “I have the greatest fans in daytime TV, and I’m so excited to be giving fans more fun throughout the summer,” Williams said. “If it were up to me, we’d have a show every day, all year long!” While Wendy has aired occasional originals in July, this will be the show’s first all-original summer run since its six-week test on the Fox stations in 2008.

Photo Credit: Karl Giant for The Wendy Williams Show

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