Top Xclusiv
After 34 Years, E! News Is Cancelled — But Its Legacy Isn’t
It’s official: after more than three decades on air, E! News has been cancelled. While to some, it’s just another show signing off. To others, it’s the end of an era.
NBCUniversal announced the cancellation this month as part of a broader cost-cutting move across its cable networks. Alongside E! News, the company also pulled the plug on Access Hollywood and Home and Family. But what exactly are we saying goodbye to?
A Show That Understood the Assignment Before It Existed
When E! News first aired in 1991, it filled a gap no one else was taking seriously, celebrity news, but with polish and purpose. It wasn’t a tabloid circus. There were no intrusive paparazzi clips, no chaos. Instead, it delivered structured segments, thoughtful interviews, and a format that treated entertainment like it actually mattered.
By the time Giuliana Rancic and Ryan Seacrest became household names, E! News had evolved into something far bigger than a show, it had become part of the cultural fabric, shaping how audiences engaged with fame, fashion, and Hollywood itself.
It was the one place where entertainment, fashion, and celebrity news all came together in a way that was easy to watch and enjoy. From red carpet exclusives to behind-the-scenes looks at Hollywood lives, it helped create an entire genre of entertainment journalism that others would try (and often fail) to replicate.
Why It’s Ending Now
The cancellation wasn’t exactly shocking. Ratings have been in decline. The format started to feel old, especially now that people scroll nonstop and don’t pay attention for long.
Let’s be honest: celebrity news is now on your phone, in your feed, and updated by the second. Twitter breaks the news, TikTok unpacks it, and podcasts provide the commentary. Where E! News once led the narrative, it now struggled to keep up. In 2020, the show went off the air during the COVID-19 shutdowns, and while it returned in 2022 with a fresh format and new hosts, Adrienne Bailon-Houghton and Justin Sylvester, the reboot never fully regained its old momentum. The glossy set, the slower pace, the once-coveted exclusives, they no longer held the same weight in a digital-first, creator-led media landscape.
The cancellation also comes as part of a larger shift in the network’s strategy, prioritizing digital and social content to meet modern audiences where they are. While the nightly show is ending, E! as a brand isn’t disappearing. The network will continue airing its original programming, including Botched Presents: Plastic Surgery Rewind and Honestly Cavallari: The Headline Tour, along with its acquired content.
A Legacy That Outlasts the Show
But here’s the thing: E! News didn’t just report on celebrity culture. It shaped how we see it today. Before there were TikTok clips breaking down Oscar dresses, E! News gave us live red carpet coverage. Before Instagram captions turned into press statements, E! News sat down for the interviews that mattered. It turned entertainment news into something serious like a real, respected part of journalism.
Of course, it wasn’t perfect. Sometimes it leaned too heavily into fluff. Sometimes it got caught in the shallows of fame. But it also tapped into something more important: the cultural value of watching, caring, and connecting through the stories of people in the spotlight.
That’s the legacy. Not the show. Not the logo. But the way it validated that pop culture does matter, because people matter. It gave a structure to celebrity storytelling. It offered tone and timing before we knew what “viral” meant. And even as it fades from the airwaves, you can still feel its fingerprints everywhere, in the way we binge celebrity recaps on YouTube, follow paparazzi breakdowns on Instagram, or dissect drama in Twitter threads. E! News walked so content creators could run.
Conclusion
The cancellation of E! News doesn’t mean the end of celebrity culture. Far from it. If anything, it shows how much it has evolved and how fast the pace has become.
But let’s not pretend like E! News didn’t matter. It was there before red carpets were digital, before everyone became their own media outlet, before “influencer” was a career path. And it did its job with a polish and presence that few shows since have managed to match. So, as we scroll on and stream forward, maybe take a moment to remember the show that made watching stars feel like its own kind of stardom. Not everything needs to go viral to leave a mark.