Kelly Clarkson Celebrates Talk Show’s 1,000th Episode After Absences

After a handful of recent absences, Kelly Clarkson returned to her eponymous talk show to celebrate a major milestone.

“Welcome to The Kelly Clarkson Show and our 1,000th episode,” Clarkson, 42, exclaimed in a preview clip from the show’s Thursday, March 20, episode. “Our show premiered on September 9, 2019, with the help of some great friends. Over the next five-and-a-half years, we have made 999 episodes. I cannot believe today marks the 1,000th. It’s crazy.”

Clarkson reflected on some of the show’s biggest moments over the years, from chatting with celebrities and “inspiring everyday heroes” to doing the show amid the coronavirus pandemic and moving to New York City.

“For 1,000 episodes, we have laughed together, we have cried together with beautiful stories, sang together with some people, danced together, celebrated and competed together,” she stated. Hinting at her divorce from ex-husband Brandon Blackstock, Clarkson continued, “I’ve lost, alone, a lot, and along the way, we found comfort in one another. And looking back, we are all incredibly proud of what we’ve built and the community we’ve created.”

Clarkson concluded the clip by stating she is “grateful to everyone who has been a part of this journey,” adding, “It has been such a cool time.”

Thursday’s episode, which was pre-filmed, will see Clarkson chat with celebrity guests Tyler Perry and Alicia Vikander, and will feature a musical performance from Venezuelan musical duo Mau y Ricky.

Actor Kal Penn kicked off this week’s episode by stepping in as a guest host on Monday, March 17. Clarkson returned to the series on Tuesday, March 18, but was absent again the following day. Andy Cohen took on hosting duties on Wednesday, March 19. In addition to Thursday’s episode, Clarkson is set to round out the week as host on Friday, March 21.

Clarkson’s recent absences began earlier this month, with Simu Liu stepping in to host the show’s March 3 episode. Despite a brief return from Clarkson two days later, several celebrities have guest hosted the show in her absence, including Roy Wood Jr., Wanda Sykes, Brooke Shields, Willie Geist and Molly Sims.

Clarkson’s hiatus was reportedly due to a personal matter, though she has not publicly addressed the reason for her break. (Us Weekly previously reached out to her rep for comment.)

The show’s executive producer and showrunner, Alex Duda, called the fan intrigue in the host’s absence “so funny” in an interview with Deadline published on Thursday, adding, “Every season there’s been a period where we had to go to guest hosts for one reason or another. But for some reason this year they wrote about it.”

Tracie Wilson, executive Vice President of NBCUniversal Syndication Studios and E! News, chimed in by stating, “I love that they missed their Kelly, but we’ve done this before. I can’t even tell you how many texts I got from family and friends too. Yes, we’ve had guest hosts a lot over the years, so it’s just something about this year. But you’re right, people love their Kelly and they want her on the air, so we appreciate that.”