Joy Behar is ending her HLN run after a little more than two years on the network.
HLN executive in charge Scot Safon is holding a meeting with staff at this hour announcing the change. The show will end its run mid-next month, with repeats until the end of December. One of HLN’s primetime shows — perhaps Nancy Grace — is expected to re-air in Behar’s timeslot in the New Year.
Behar debuted on HLN in September 2009 at 9pmET, but moved to 10pmET earlier this year with the launch of “Dr. Drew.” Behar’s ratings held. And thanks in part to coverage of the Casey Anthony trial, the show’s third quarter saw a +38% improvement from Q3 2010. Behar will continue on “The View.”
“I am very proud of the show that we created at HLN and I owe tremendous thanks to the show team who made it possible,” Behar says in a statement.
Rumblings of a change have been in the air. Last Wednesday, Behar EP Conway Cliff was spotted having lunch with CNN executive Bart Feder at the CNN Center.
“Joy and her team produced over 500 episodes of a show that featured news-making interviews, great conversation and plenty of humor,” says Safon. “We thank Joy for the many memorable moments she gave the HLN audience.”
An unknown number of staffers will be laid off with their positions eliminated on January 3. As always with these kinds of changes, they can apply for other jobs within CNN.