Skip Bayless' Undisputed is reportedly going on a two-month hiatus because the Fox Sports 1 show is struggling to find a replacement for Shannon Sharpe.
Per Front Office Sports sources, the talk show is taking extended time off following the 55-year-old's exit because Bayless, 71, and FS1 have so far been unable to find a suitable replacement for the former NFL star, who served as a co-host since 2016.
On July 5, Bayless announced the show would return on Aug. 28. "LeBron isn't the only one in the lab this summer," he wrote. "Can't wait to unveil Undisputed just in time for football season."
Bayless has the final say on who will replace Sharpe, and sources said if he could get his way, he would work with none other than Stephen A. Smith, one of the few ESPN on-air personalities who hasn't been laid off recently. “Shannon’s exit moved way faster than they expected. So they had no choice but to go on hiatus,” said one of Front Office Sports' insiders, who chose to remain anonymous. “Skip has never done anything like this during all his years at FS1 or ESPN. Not being on the air during all these NBA moves is killing him.”
Bayless openly said on his podcast this week, “Charles Barkley would be my dream debate partner on Undisputed. ... Please, Charles, please come and please work with me, this ‘damn idiot.’ What a joy it would be to do battle every day with Charles Barkley live on television."
Last month Sharpe said goodbye to Bayless and Undisputed just two weeks after reports surfaced that he was looking to leave.
“You’ve embraced me and allowed me to become your favorite TV uncle, and for that, I’m forever grateful,” Sharpe said during his teary final episode. "You’ve rocked with me when you knew very little about Shannon Sharpe. The guy that can come out here and talk, hopefully, you’ve found me entertaining. Hopefully, you’ve found me educational. Hopefully, you found all the things that I gave you that you looked for when you came and tuned in and watched me and this man for seven years.”
While Sharpe and Bayless have clashed numerous times during their years together on Undisputed, Shannon made sure to thank Skip for being in his corner when it counted. "You’ve allowed me to share the stage with you. You’ve allowed me to share the platform," he said. "The opportunity that you gave me to become what I became, I’m forever indebted to you. I’ll never forget what you did for me. You’ve helped me grow more than you’ll ever know.”
Sharpe reached a buyout agreement with Fox Sports 1 in May with a deal that includes his Club Shay Shay podcast.
