(AllHipHop News) Rapper, singer, actress, and television personality Queen Latifah is set to debut the new version of her day-time talk show today (9/16). After stepping a way from hosting duties of her first program in 2001, the 43-year-old Academy Award nominee is ready to return to the small screen.
[ALSO READ: The Arsenio Hall Show Beats Leno, Letterman & Kimmel In Monday Night Ratings]
Latifah explains to USA Today about what makes the new version of The Queen Latifah Show different from the last:
That was a long time ago, over 10 years ago. I’ve changed tremendously. I enjoyed the first show, but there was a lot I wanted to do in terms of acting and producing. I’ve been able to satisfy that itch. Now I can make a show that’s much more what I want it to be… The first show – the idea of it was what I wanted but what it became wasn’t quite what I wanted it to be. It got a little too heavy, a little too serious. It started to feel like it wasn’t as me as it should be.
She also tell the New York Post:
I definitely felt a little bit of a void. I don’t know, there was a little heart missing in daytime TV… I watch a lot of TV and I definitely watch talk shows and I felt like some of the “fun factor” was missing, an entertainment factor, to a degree.
The Queen Latifah Show is being produced by Latifah’s Flavor Unit Entertainment, Will Smith’s Overbrook Entertainment, and Sony TV. Another musician-turned-actor, Lenny Kravitz, was brought on to design the set for the show.
[ALSO READ: Queen Latifah’s “Flavor Unit Entertainment” Strikes Multi-Year Deal With Netflix]
The first episode of The Queen Latifah Show will feature interviews with John Travolta and Alicia Keys. Check your local listings for time and channel.