‘Startalk’ goes off air after 20 years

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Is time to reformat showbiz talk shows? GMA seems to think so.
 
After The Buzz went off air in April, it was Startalk‘s turn to hang up its gloves and say goodbye to its fans. On Sep 12, Saturday, Startalk and its hosts officially signed off.

First aired in 1995, Startalk has welcomed many celebrities as hosts, including Kris Aquino, Boy Abunda, Dawn Zulueta, Rosanna Roces, and Lorna Tolentino.

For its final airing, Joey De Leon, Lolit Solis, Ricky Lo, Heart Evangelista, and Butch Francisco got a chance to tell viewers what they will miss most about the show. 

“Silang lahat, mami-miss ko” co-host Ricky said as he turned emotional. 

“I’m glad I got to know everyone on the show. Ang bait nyong lahat, grabe. Sixteen years ako sa industry, ngayon lang ako nagkaroon ng totoong mga kaibigan sa show,” Heart revealed, as she got teary-eyed with her farewell. 

On GMAnetwork.com, ‘King of Talk’ Boy Abunda said a part of him is hurting when he heard about the news. If you remember, he also started out in Startalk. 

“Habang ginagawa ko ang Startalk for many years kasama si Dawn, si Osang, si Kris, lahat puso po. Ang sakit-sakit pong isiping mawawala na ang Startalk. It’s painful. Nasasaktan po ako. It’s going to take a long, long time before I can even deal with it,” Tito Boy said. 

But this does not spell the end of an era for showbiz talk shows.

Celebri-TV has been tapped to replace the show, with a format called “trend-tertainment”. It could be about the latest trending topics involving celebrities online, as the internet has been regularly outscooping various showbiz sources. 
 

Four months ago, the online competition was also part of the reason why The Buzz decided it’s time to say goodbye in 2015: “The world has changed and ang pamamaraan ng news reporting, and that includes showbiz news reporting, ay nabago na rin po,” host Boy Abunda said. 

Celebri-TV will still be hosted by Startalk mainstays Joey de Leon and Lolit Solis, so hopefully, for Startalk fans, it’s like nothing ever happened. 

“Ganyan ang buhay, tuloy lang. Bukas pa ho ang pinto para sa mga malulungkot. Hanapin nyo kami,” Joey said.