Sara Gilbert is leaving The Talk, and fans are now talking about her possible replacement on the CBS chatfest. The Talk star, who created the Emmy-winning daytime talk show and co-hosted it for nine years, announced that she will leave her post on the panel at the end of this season, as previously shared by The Inquisitr.
In a tearful announcement, Gilbert, who also stars on and executive produces ABC's The Conners, said she felt "out of balance" working on both shows and admitted that she was "not spending as much time with my three kids as I would like."
Gilbert, who will soon produce and star on The Conners' upcoming second season, added that she has other projects in development and has decided that she can no longer "do it all" and will now focus on her family and acting and producing opportunities.
Sara Gilbert's sister, former Little House on the Prairie star Melissa Gilbert, took to Twitter to tease big things in the future for her little sister.
"I love my baby sister @THEsaragilbert so much," Melissa Gilbert wrote. "I am so incredibly proud of her. She created an incredible show in @TheTalkCBS. I know that this, for her, may feel like an ending but I also know, with all my heart, that this is really the beginning. Just watch!"
In her departure announcement, Sara Gilbert promised that she will be back to guest co-host The Talk in the future. But fans have some definite opinions on who should fill her seat permanently at the five-woman table.
Many fans took to social media to nominate recurring guest co-host Carnie Wilson to take Gilbert's job. Wilson has continued to appear on The Talk through every casting change, including the departures of Aisha Tyler and Julie Chen, which resulted in Eve and Carrie Ann Inaba filling those seats.
Other Talk fans put in nominations for longtime friend of the show Jodie Sweetin, whose sitcom Fuller House will soon wrap its final season on Netflix. Other fans threw out names like Marie Osmond and Valerie Bertinelli, two other popular recurring guest hosts on The Talk.
There were also several suggestions to replace Sara Gilbert with another member of the LGBTQ community. Blogger Perez Hilton even suggested that he should get the job, which would certainly put a new twist on the all-female Talk panel. You can see viewer reaction to Sara Gilbert's departure from The Talk below.