Sherri Shepherd doesn't want 'to lean into politics' in new talk show

Sherri Shepherd hopes to give viewers of her new talk show "permission to breathe and feel good" and a break from "doom and gloom."

So don't expect the "Sherri" host to fire up political debates, as she was wont do during her tenure co-hosting ABC's "The View." Instead, the new daytime TV star is offering lighter fare and leaning into her stand-up comedy background.

"I don't feel I need to lean into politics. You have a plethora of shows you can lean into to get your politics. Number one, my old stomping grounds: 'The View,'" she recently told Yahoo Entertainment. "I'm your escape from the doom and gloom."

Her new series premiered Monday on Fox and in syndication, taking over the long-held time slot of "The Wendy Williams Show," which she guest-hosted since last year when the titular host stepped away amid health concerns.

Navigating the uncertain future involving Williams, media company Debmar-Mercury announced in February that Shepherd would headline the new program and end Williams' 13-season run. Shepherd bid farewell to Williams' audience when the syndicated gossip program went off the air in June before fully diving into her own namesake show.

So Shepherd not only has to set herself apart from "The View," but also from the "Wendy" back story that laid the groundwork for her new series, in addition to the legacy daytime talk shows "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," to which she will inevitably be compared.

"There's a big gap that needs to be filled with Ellen [DeGeneres off the air] and I look forward to stepping in that pool. I relish the challenge," she said.

Clarkson, Hudson's fellow "American Idol" alum, has held steady with a top-rated show, Barrymore kicked off Season 3 of her series on Monday, too, and Hall launched her latest season last week.

Shepherd said she "took 15 pages of notes" when she sought advice from Winfrey to prepare for "Sherri."

"One thing I took from Oprah is, she said, 'Sherri, the show, is not about the ratings, it's about the energy. You put out the energy, and it will come back in direct proportion to you from the audience. It's your responsibility. You're in charge of the energy that is on your show,' " she told Entertainment Weekly. "I felt that, because I was like, damn, I just wanted to show some viral videos and make people laugh. But it's true, it's the energy you give off, which is why we love Oprah."

Shepherd, whose acting credits include "The Jamie Foxx Show," "30 Rock," "How I Met Your Mother" and "Everybody Loves Raymond," also told Yahoo that she learned a few things from veteran journalist and "The View" creator Barbara Walters, whom she famously clashed with before Walters retired in 2014.