The Social (talk show)

The Social
GenreTalk show
Video podcast
Presented by
Theme music composerNick Fowler
Country of originCanada
No. of seasons13
No. of episodes1,000+
Production
Production locationsBell Media Queen Street
Toronto, Ontario
Original release
NetworkCTV
ReleaseSeptember 2, 2013 (2013-09-02) –
present

The Social is a Canadian daytime television talk show, which airs weekday afternoons on CTV and CTV 2. Using a panel format similar to American talk shows such as The View or The Talk, the show is hosted by Andrea Bain and Cynthia Loyst. On Friday editions, Jessica Allen serves as an additional co-host.

The series covers news, lifestyle and entertainment topics, and places a strong emphasis on direct and live interaction with viewers through social media. In August 2026, Bell Media announced the program would be "reimagined" as a video podcast beginning with the fourteenth season, but would continue to air on CTV and Crave.

History

The show premiered on September 2, 2013, originally hosted by Melissa Grelo, Elaine Lui, Loyst and Traci Melchor with Allen as a digital correspondent for the show.

Grelo took a maternity leave from the program in spring 2014. A series of celebrity guest hosts appeared during her absence, including Jann Arden, Marilyn Denis, Wendy Crewson, Elisha Cuthbert, Arlene Dickinson, Arielle Kebbel, Emily Procter, Sarah Rafferty and Debbie Travis.

Logo used from 2013 to 2019

Melchor took a leave of absence from the show in 2016, with Marci Ien stepping in as a substitute host following the cancellation of Canada AM. Melchor later revealed that she took the leave of absence for mental health reasons, after bursting into uncontrollable tears while preparing for an interview with Lynn Keane, an author who had published a book about her son's suicide, leading Melchor to realize that she had not fully processed her grief over the 2015 death of her friend Chris Hyndman.

Melchor announced in March 2017 that she would not be returning to the program full-time, instead concentrating on her duties with eTalk, although she will occasionally still appear on the show as a substitute host when one of the regulars is away. Ien became a permanent cohost of the program in 2017. She left the program upon her election to the House of Commons of Canada for the federal electoral district of Toronto Centre in 2020.

Lui announced her departure from the program in summer 2023 after ten years, with Andrea Bain announced as her successor.

In August 2026, it was announced that Grelo would be departing the program. With Grelo's departure, Loyst is the only original co-host remaining since the show's beginning in 2013. It was also announced that the show ould switch formats, becoming a video podcast from its fourteenth season, losing its live studio audience. The new format was met with criticism following the season premiere. In an op-ed for the Toronto Star, Leanne Delap wrote "[w]ithout all those people in the room, reacting in real time with murmurs of assent or disagreement or spontaneous applause, we lose a feeling of representation in the conversation, as well as a depth of sound for the viewer at home."

Controversy

Jess Allen comments on hockey players

On November 12, 2019, during a discussion regarding the firing of ice hockey commentator Don Cherry from Hockey Night in Canada, Allen said that she doesn't "worship at the altar of hockey" and found that those who did, in her experience, "all tended to be white boys who weren't, let's say, very nice." Allen also added, "they were not generally thoughtful, they were often bullies." Allen later clarified on Twitter saying, "I never said every white boy, just the ones whose unsavoury behaviour, which didn’t feel very Canadian, I witnessed. Because of this, I am guilty of having conflicted feelings about hockey being so closely linked to our national identity." On November 13, Allen acknowledged that she "struck a nerve with many people." The controversy resulted in social media backlash, including the hashtag #FireJessAllen, and the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council issuing a notice on their website that they had received "a large number of similar complaints" and that "no further complaints will be accepted by the CBSC on this issue." On November 14, CTV issued a statement apologizing to "everyone who was offended by the remarks,". However, they wouldn't restrict their hosts from "offering their opinions on an opinion show," but they will "always listen to viewers when they offer theirs." Allen also issued an apology saying she was only speaking about hockey players she knew personally, and that Don Cherry reminded her of them; however, she couldn't "apologize to the very specific hockey players" she was originally referring to.

International broadcasts

The series began airing in syndication in the United States through PPI Releasing and Sony Pictures Television via selective markets since September 2015, although a few stations had started airing the show during a test run prior to the push to expand it in more American television markets. It had been targeted for a soft 2014 US launch but was held back in order to give the show enough time to find its footing.

References

  1. ↑ McPherson, David (27 March 2014). "Bell Media's Catherine Jones". SOCAN Words and Music. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  2. 1 2 John Doyle, "Will daytime TV finally stop making my skin crawl?". The Globe and Mail, September 9, 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 "'The Social': Canadian Talk Show Isn't 'The View'". Huffington Post, September 1, 2013.
  4. ↑ "The Social's Lainey Lui and Jessica Allen to co-host the 2015 National Magazine Awards". www.newswire.ca. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  5. 1 2 Friend, David (20 August 2026). "CTV's 'The Social' is set to become a video podcast as founding co-host Melissa Grelo departs". The Toronto Star. Retrieved 20 August 2026.
  6. ↑ Maloney, Val. "CTV's new daytime talker The Social to launch Sept. 2". Playback. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  7. ↑ Govani, Shinan (30 July 2015). "Who's that girl? The rise of Jess Allen | The Star". thestar.com. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  8. 1 2 "THE SOCIAL Reveals Upcoming Guest Co-Hosts, as Melissa Grelo Takes Time to Deliver Her Biggest Story Yet". Yahoo! Finance, March 6, 2014.
  9. 1 2 "Traci opens up about why Bell Let's Talk Day is close to her heart". eTalk, January 25, 2017.
  10. 1 2 "Former 'Canada AM' host Marci Ien new co-host of 'The Social'". Toronto Sun, March 29, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Federal Liberals projected to hold onto Toronto Centre in byelection". CBC News. October 26, 2020. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  12. ↑ Connie Thiessen, "Andrea Bain joins CTV daytime talk show ‘The Social’". Broadcast Dialogue, August 14, 2023.
  13. ↑ Delap, Leanne (10 September 2026). "'The Social' returns without Melissa Grelo or the hum of a studio audience — a loss you can feel". The Toronto Star. Retrieved 11 September 2026.
  14. 1 2 "'You will see us on Saturday': Ron MacLean mum on what HNIC will look like post-Cherry". CBC. The Canadian Press. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  15. ↑ Allen, Jessica [@jessieraeallen] (12 November 2019). "I never said every white boy, just the ones whose unsavoury behaviour, which didn't feel very Canadian, I witnessed. Because of this, I am guilty of having conflicted feelings about hockey being so closely linked to our national identity" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 13 November 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019 – via Twitter.
  16. 1 2 Ahearn, Victoria. "'The Social' cast member Jessica Allen clarifies Cherry comments". ca.news.yahoo.com. The Canadian Press. Retrieved 14 November 2019.[permanent dead link]
  17. ↑ "Make a Complaint". Canadian Broadcast Standards Council. Archived from the original on 14 November 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  18. ↑ CTV Communications [@CTV_PR] (14 November 2019). "A statement from CTV regarding @jessieraeallen" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019 – via Twitter.
  19. ↑ Franklin, Michael (2019-11-14). "Family of Humboldt Broncos crash survivor blacklists CTV over comments on The Social". CTV News Calgary. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  20. ↑ "CTV, Jessica Allen apologize for hockey remarks after Don Cherry's firing". The Globe and Mail. 14 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  21. ↑ Allen, Jessica [@jessieraeallen] (14 November 2019). (Tweet) https://twitter.com/jessieraeallen/status/1195134686965719040. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019 – via Twitter. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  22. ↑ NAPTE 2015: Fall 2015 Syndication From Sitcoms Online (January 22, 2015)
  23. ↑ "PPI GETTING "SOCIAL" IN DAYTIME." from PPI (October 16, 2013)