‘The Talk’ Says Goodbye To Its Audience With An Emotional Final Episode After 15-Year Run

In the last ten minutes of the talk show’s final episode on Friday, hosts Akbar Gbajabiamila, Amanda Kloots, Natalie Morales, Jerry O’Connell and Sheryl Underwood had the champagne flowing on set as they gave an emotional farewell.

“We thank you all for watching and laughing, sometimes even crying along with us,” Morales said.

“We thank everyone for being here with us, our wonderful crew here with us every day, to the producing team, to our wonderful, loyal audience — so many of you who have filled these seats day after day, time after time — our wonderful executive producers past and present. To the most wonderful people here in daytime, we’re going to miss you all so much.”

The daytime talk show has been on air for 15 years and wrapped its run with one final live episode where the show’s producers gathered all its cast and crew on stage for a celebratory toast.

Then the crowd even hit the stage to celebrate alongside the beloved hosts they have welcomed into their living rooms over the years.

“We thank God for 15 amazing seasons. We’re very grateful,” Underwood added.

The episode opened with a standing ovation from the audience which brought the hosts to tears.

“I just wanted to know why everyone’s being so nice today,” said O’Connell, who put the attention on Underwood — who has been on the show the longest.

“I went back and watched my first episode. I mean, you guys aren’t gonna believe this, but I was jumping out of my seat. And Sheryl, after the show, took me aside and was just like, ‘Hey, man, you’ve been here before. Just act like you’ve been here. And I really want to thank Sheryl,” he said.

Each host also shared what the show has meant to them over their tenure.

“For me, the legacy of the show is the joy that we brought people; we gave people an opportunity to take a break in their everyday lives. Whatever they were doing, they could just stop and watch us, maybe have a little laughter, and forget their problems for an hour. And I hope we at least did that for you at home, for our studio audience. I hope we gave you just a little respite from some of the world’s problems. We love each other here. I think we’ve shared that respect and joy every day, and we hope you felt it as well,” said Morales.

Kloots added how much she appreciated everyone’s different opinions on important topics: “I live with a child, so coming here every day and being able to talk to people… about really fun, silly topics to important topics, I’m so grateful for that. We don’t fight with each other, we really appreciate each other’s opinions.”

Gbajabiamila then revealed how much of “a great work environment” it has been to come to everyday.

“No matter what corner of the building I was in, it was always just good energy, good people. When I started this journey, the theme that I had in my head was it was going to be conversation over confrontation. Especially the climate that we’re in today.”

Underwood thanked the show’s director, who she said “saved” her life, with one hilarious final story.

“When I first came here, we sat at a table and I thought they were only filming me from the waist up. But I didn’t know they could see all the shots. And he whispers in my ear, ‘close your legs.’ And I would also like to apologize to camera five.”

The finale’s one guest was Howie Mandel, who often made regular appearances on the show.