Red Table Talk


Red Table Talk is an American talk show starring Jada Pinkett Smith, Willow Smith, and Jada's mother, Adrienne Banfield-Norris. The series premiered on May 7, 2018 on Facebook Watch, and would run for 5 seasons and 129 episodes on the streaming service. The series also spawned a spinoff, Red Table Talk: The Estefans, led by Gloria Estefan, Emily Estefan and Lili Estefan. Facebook Watch ended the series run in April 2023 as part of the cancellation of all TV shows of original programming on Facebook Watch, although Red Table Talk producers, Westbrook Studios, will continue the project and are reportedly seeking a new home for the series, which was originally slated to return in 2024.
Red Table Talk provides "a forum where the perspectives of three different generations on a wide variety of topics are shared."
WWW Official Site𝕏 RedTableTalkFB redtabletalk

Production

On January 18, 2018, it was announced that Facebook had given the production a series order. The series was expected to star Jada Pinkett Smith, Willow Smith, and Adrienne Banfield-Norris. Pinkett Smith was also set as an executive producer alongside Ellen Rakieten and Miguel Melendez. It was expected the show would premiere in April 2018.
On April 23, 2018, it was announced that the show would premiere on May 7, 2018. On June 13, 2018, it was announced that Facebook had ordered an additional 13 episodes of the series bringing the first season total up to 23. The additional episodes were expected to premiere in the fall of 2018. Facebook renewed the show for a second season of at least 20 episodes, to premiere in May 2019. Season 2 premiered on May 6, 2019 and is reported to have 20 episodes.
The show launched an overall deal with IHeartMedia to launch a podcast radio network.
On April 26, 2023, it was reported that Red Table Talk was being cancelled by Facebook Watch. The cancellation was related to the discontinuation of all original programming by Facebook Watch; a shift of emphasis by parent company Meta Platforms toward content for its virtual reality service Horizon Worlds; and ongoing layoffs at Meta that included the departure of Mina Lefevre, Facebook Watch's head of development and programming. The reports also indicated that Westbrook Studios, the producer of Red Table Talk, is seeking a new distributor for future episodes of the series.

Reception

Critical response

In a positive review, USA Todays Maeve McDermott praised the series for its "insightful guests, no-holds-barred topics and Smith’s magnetic hosting presence" and favorably compared to other television series saying, "Unlike the web of other celebrity TV shows featuring manufactured family drama and few moments of actual clarity, though, the revealing conversations on Red Table Talk have authentic, difficult lessons at their center." In another encouraging criticism, The Washington Posts Bethonie Butler was equally approving saying, "It's a shrewd business move for the Smiths to acknowledge and address long-standing rumors about their family in a format they can control. That said, there's an authenticity woven throughout the episodes that makes Red Table Talk stand out amid a surplus of celebrity-hosted talk shows." The show received a 2019 Daytime Emmy Award nomination in the informative talk-show category.

Viewership

By July 17, 2018, the show's debut episode had been watched 27 million times and episode ten had accumulated 21 million views.