14 DAY TRIAL // Most people react to news that their contract has been terminated with disbelief and shock, and even rage. Bethenny Frankel is actually relieved that her talk show, Bethenny, which has been on air for one season, has been canceled.
The decision came after the syndicated show lost many of its affiliate stations as interest nosedived, Deadline says. Bethenny, for one, says it’s a good thing it got the axe, because she wasn’t feeling like she was being true to herself with it either way.
Bethenny the show featured some pretty impressive names in the first season and included a format that also allowed for audience interactions. Still, it was too diluted and constrictive for Bethennny herself, she explains in an open letter to fans, posted to her official blog.
“What I love about doing my talk show is connecting to women. I love the opportunity to inspire, to be inspired and to be able to help women to be their best, succeed and feel better about themselves. I also love working with such an incredibly talented and hard working staff and crew. Unlike working with my assistant, daughter and Cookie in my apartment, I interact with hundreds of people every day. I see a unique cast of characters and those days are filled with laughter,” she writes.
Most of that staff are still by her side even if they’ve all been informed that they won’t be coming back for another season and the only tinge of regret Bethenny feels is at the thought that all these amazing people will be left without a job.
Still, she continues, this is one of the best-known risks of a career in this industry, fickle as it is.
On to the reason she feels relieved, Ms. Frankel says, “In order to have the freedom to create a talk show, there are required elements that the job entails. This is the part that I didn't enjoy so much and that wasn't authentic to me. In addition, I tend to be quite inappropriate which may not be suitable for daytime television or for the suits that run network television nationwide.”
She recalls how her father, who worked as a horse trainer, compared her to a Mustang who can’t be tamed, who must be allowed to run free. The show didn’t do that for her, the “free spirit.”
“So to answer how I feel, I am relieved. What I really want right now is to be with my daughter, to do yoga, to focus on Skinnygirl and my writing, and to give myself a break. I have been striving and climbing and white-knuckling for so long that I need a rest from the grind. I'm a little over myself and wouldn't blame anyone else for being over me as well,” Bethenny says.
She’s thankful for and humbled by the experience, and she’s taking with her very fond memories. For the time being, this chapter in Bethenny’s life, that of talk show host, is closed.