TCA: How Julie Chen Plans to Channel Cedric the Entertainer on Her New Talk Show

From the moment Sara Gilbert, Julie Chen, Leah Remini, Sharon Osbourne, Holly Robinson Peete, and Marissa Jaret Winokur sat down to discuss their new morning talk show at the TCA press junket today, I had a feeling that Chen was the most candid of the sextet.

For a newscaster and reality series emcee, she's pretty guileless, and she probably wouldn't clam up if you asked her about Scientology (unlike Remini, a practicing Scientologist who did just that). My instincts proved correct when Chen began discussing the new show, dubbed The Talk, and explained the program's intentions by giving some props to Cedric the Entertainer:

"[The show] should kind of feel like...has everyone in this room seen that movie Barbershop with Cedric the Entertainer and Ice Cube? And Cedric would say the most ridiculous, controversial things? I remember one scene, he was like, "O.J. did it! Rosa Parks sat down because she was tired!" This show should feel like you're hearing six women talking about what everyone is buzzing about. We don't have an edit button. This is how we feel. We're not here to judge each other. We're hear to talk about what everyone is talking about in the world."

Edit buttons be damned, indeed! More to come on Chen's plans for the show later today, with a couple of exclusive tidbits thrown Movieline's way.