Jada Pinkett Smith’s ‘Red Table Talk’ has been given the axe

Red Table Talk — the hit web series hosted by Jada Pinkett Smith and produced by Facebook Watch —  has officially been given the axe, following a wave of cost-cutting moves by parent company Meta. As reported by Variety, Red Table Talk‘s cancellation comes as Meta discontinues its Facebook Original shows after the exit of its Head of Development and Programming, Mina Lefevre. 

Lefevre is one of thousands of Meta employees to be laid off in recent months, as the tech giant pivots from original programming toward VR experiences, according to Deadline. At the time of its cancellation, Red Table Talk was the last surviving Facebook Original series, having outrun previous shows like MTV’s reboot of the hit reality series The Real World and the Catherine Zeta-Jones-led drama Queen America.

According to Deadline, Red Table Talk‘s production company Westbrook — co-founded by Pinkett Smith and husband Will Smith — is currently searching for a new home for the talk show. Alongside Red Table Talk, Westbrook has elsewhere produced titles like King Richard, the Bel-Air reboot and Emancipation. Details around who will distribute Red Table Talk following its cancellation have not yet been announced. 

Red Table Talk ran for five seasons, and was co-hosted by Pinkett Smith, Adrienne Banfield-Norris and Willow Smith. The Daytime Emmy-winning series — which saw three generations of women discuss a range of timely topics — was home to more than a few explosive moments. A 2020 episode of Red Table Talk hosted Will Smith for a candid discussion of the pair’s marital struggles with Pinkett Smith confessing to an “entanglement” with another man. 

Meanwhile, the talk show last year saw Jada and Willow publicly address Will Smith’s infamous Oscars slap with Chris Rock, with Jada urging the pair on Red Table Talk to “have an opportunity to heal.” Other standout moments from the series include Leah Remini’s discussion of her public accusations regarding the Smith family and the Church of Scientology, and Janelle Monáe’s coming out as non-binary. 

Alongside those stars, Red Table Talk also welcomed guests like Kid Cudi, Chelsea Handler and Sandra Bullock, among many others.