Melissa Grelo exits Bell Media after 18 years, 'The Social' reformats to podcast
Longtime co-host of CTV’s The Social, Melissa Grelo, is officially leaving the daytime talk show after 13 seasons, as the series prepares for a major format change this fall.
Bell Media announced on Wednesday that The Social will be evolving from its current weekday television format into a “premium video podcast” when it returns for its 14th season this September.
The new season will also mark the departure of co-host and moderator Melissa Grelo, who is leaving the series after 18 years with Bell Media.
Grelo took to Instagram on Wednesday to announce her departure, writing that she’s moving on to a new chapter and will focus on her health podcast, “Aging Powerfully with Melissa Grelo.”
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“It’s hard to put 13 seasons into words. This show has been one of the greatest privileges of my career,” Grelo wrote. “I’ve also always believed that when the world around you is changing, you can either hold tightly to what has been, or get curious about what comes next.”
Despite the format change, the talk show will continue to feature co-hosts Jess Allen, Andrea Bain, and Cynthia Loyst, with the trio welcoming special guests every week to discuss trending topics, news, pop culture, and lifestyle.
As part of its new format, the show will no longer be filming with a studio audience, although it’ll continue to film on its existing Toronto set at Bell Media’s headquarters on Queen Street West.
The Social will be returning with its new format on Sept. 9, and will be available weekdays at 2 p.m. on CTV, Crave, iHeart.com, and the iHeartRadio Canada app. The show will also be available at 1 p.m. live on YouTube in September.
The Social first premiered back in 2013, following a similar format to other popular daytime talk shows like The View, with Grelo, Elaine Lui, Loyst, and Traci Melchor as the original hosts. Throughout the years, most of the show’s original hosts have moved on, including Lui and Melchor.