Jada Pinkett Smith’s Emmy-winning series “Red Table Talk” is returning with new episodes. But in the press release issued on Tuesday announcing the season’s upcoming lineup, no mention was made of Will Smith’s now-infamous Oscars slap and whether the matter will be addressed on the talk show, which is known for diving into personal matters surrounding the Smith family.
“Red Table Talk” on Facebook Watch is hosted by Pinkett Smith, her daughter Willow Smith and her mother Adrienne Banfield Norris. The three multi-generational women conduct interviews with notable stars and engage in candid conversations on the streaming series that prides itself in having “unprecedented transparency.”
Will Smith has sat down at the red table in the past to discuss deeply personal matters from the couple’s sex life to Pinkett Smith’s extramarital romance with singer August Alsina, which she referred to as an “entanglement” on the show in 2020.
Last month, the Smiths were at the center of the biggest controversy in Oscars history when Will Smith went up onstage and slapped presenter Chris Rock, who made a joke at his wife’s expense about her shaved head. Pinkett Smith has been open about her struggle with hair loss due to alopecia. The saga resulted in the actor resigning from the Academy with the Board of Governors for the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences banning him from attending the Oscars for the next 10 years.
While Smith has apologized and stated, “I accept and respect the Academy’s decision,” he has not spoken more at-length about the incident. Many have suspected he will eventually sit down down for a larger interview, and some have questioned if he would break his silence on his wife’s show.
Insiders tell Variety that some new episodes were filming prior to the 2022 Oscars, but it’s unclear whether anything has taped following or during the saga. (A representative for “Red Table Talk” was unavailable for comment, and Pinkett Smith’s rep did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment.)
“Red Table Talk” has won an Emmy and six NAACP Image awards, and has emerged as a formidable player in the talk show space and pop culture zeitgeist with buzzy, viral moments and a loyal following with over 11 million fans on the series’ Facebook page. Last year, crossing its 100th episode and one billion views, the Facebook Watch show has welcomed the likes of Sandra Bullock, Snoop Dogg, Kevin Hart, Salma Hayek, Demi Moore, Alicia Keys and more.
The show is set to return this week on Wednesday, April 20 at 9 a.m. PT/12 p.m. ET with guest Janelle Monáe kicking off the new episodes that will stream weekly. More upcoming episodes will feature Ireland Baldwin and her mother Kim Basinger in their first interview together; the parents of Miss USA Cheslie Kryst, who died by suicide in January; the first sit-down with the “Tinder Swindler” victim Ayleen Charlotte; and bestselling author Rachel DeLoache Williams, who penned a book about fake German heiress Anna Delvey and is portrayed in the Netflix series “Inventing Anna.” The Smith siblings, Willow, Jaden and Trey, will also take over the table for their first solo episode during Season 5.
“Red Table Talk” is produced by Westbrook Studios with Pinkett Smith, Ellen Rakieten, Miguel Melendez, Meghan Hoffman and Jill Van Lokeren serving as executive producers.
Watch a preview of the new episodes of “Red Table Talk” below.