It’s the season finale of The Rachael Ray Show.
After 17 successful seasons, the famous American television personality, Rachael Ray, announced on Friday that her talk show would end. After its current 17th season, the television talk show will discontinue production.
The Rachael Ray Show is finally coming to an end after 17 seasons of being on air (Credit: Rachael Ray Show / YouTube)
In a statement to Deadline, the 54-year-old star announced that she has decided to move on to the next chapter in her broadcast career and start her own production company, Free Food Studios.
Rachael Ray said, “In my more than 20 plus years in television, I have had 17 wonderful seasons working in daytime television with Rachael. However, I’ve made the decision that it’s time for me to move on to the next exciting chapter in my broadcast career.”
The show’s discontinuation announcement happened when host Rachael Ray declared she was starting her own production company, Free Food Studios.
Rachael Ray attending the premiere of National Geographic’s We Feed People in New York City on May 3, 2022 (Credit: Erik Nielsen / Media Punch / INSTARimages / Cover Images)
Ray added, “My passions have evolved from the talk show format production and syndication model to a platform unencumbered by the traditional rules of distribution… That is why I am looking forward to putting all my energies into my recently announced production arm, Free Food Studios.”
The American TV personality has hosted several food-related shows in addition to her daytime talk show, including Rachael Ray’s Tasty Travels, Rachael Ray’s 30 Minute Meals, $40 A Day, and Rachael Ray’s Week in a Day.
Rachael Ray signing her cookbook at Barnes and Noble at the Grove in Los Angeles, California on December 9, 2006 (Credit: Jean Catuffe / INFGoff)
She continued, “Thank you to all of our Rachael daytime show partners, crew, and affiliates, and the wonderful years we all worked together.”
Steve LoCascio, president of CBS Media Ventures, also provided the publication with a comment regarding the cancellation of Rachel Ray.
He said, “When Rachael debuted her show 17 years ago, she was a game-changer in the daytime space. She made cooking accessible to the masses, taught viewers simple solutions on how to improve their lives, and coaxed great stories out of celebrity guests with her relatable down-to-earth demeanor.”
Rachael Ray hosting the Heineken Burger Bash presented by Schweid and Sons during the 2020 Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival in Miami, Florida on February 21, 2020 (Credit: Seth Browarnik / Startraksphoto)
LoCascio continued, “We’re proud to have produced such a successful show with Rachael and her team for so many years. We’ll miss Rachael on the air every day, but we’ll always be family.”
The Rachael Ray show showcases to viewers Ray’s culinary prowess in addition to celebrity interviews, lifestyle and health advice, makeover segments, musical performances, and access to her private life.
With Diane Sawyer as Ray’s first guest, the show debuted in September 2006 and ended its opening series as the most popular syndicated strip to premiere in the 2006–2007 season.
Ray got a People’s Choice Award for Favorite TV Chef in 2011 and a daytime Emmy in 2019 for her excellent informative talk show. The food icon has had 37 Daytime Emmy nominations over 17 years and has won the Outstanding Talk Show Award thrice.
Rachael Ray showing off her trophy as The Rachael Ray Show won Outstanding Informative Talk Show at the 46th Daytime Emmy Awards held at the Pasadena Civic Center in Pasadena, California on May 5, 2019 (Credit: Joe Seer / Shutterstock)
Despite the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, Ray continued to deliver her daily talk show from her home in Lake Luzerne, New York — a haven from the spotlight she had built from the ground up 15 years earlier.
The talk show host told People in September 2021, “Our home was a light switch where we would turn off from work mode and deal with our lives.”
She shared, “I would write and read, work on my photography, or spend time literally homemaking for my family or close friends. My husband he’s a lawyer by day but is a musician, so would spend all day in his studio. It was our little world to just be us. Then all of a sudden, we had to let everyone in.”
However, tragedy struck when her home burned down in August 2020 due to a fire ember that burst out of the chimney and crashed onto the roof. Her possessions, including cooking journals, photo albums, and her dream kitchen, were burned in that fire.
Through it all, Ray persevered, and it took her and her 55-year-old husband, John Cusimano, a full year to restore the house, as she announced in her show in September 2021.
Rachael Ray with husband John Cusimano attending the A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Cure Parkinson’s benefit for The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research in New York City on November 16, 2019 (Credit: Adam Nemser / Startraksphoto)
As The Rachael Ray Show’s final season ends, it marks the end of an era for the iconic talk show host. However, with the launch of her production company, Free Food Studios, Rachael Ray is poised to continue bringing her passion for food and relatable content to viewers worldwide.
We wish Rachael Ray all the best in her new venture and eagerly anticipate what she has in store for us next.