LeBron James Is Gone from ‘The Shop’ — and HBO Is Betting Two Unproven Hosts Can Fill That Void

HBO’s celebrity talk show “The Shop: Uninterrupted” returned June 22, 2026 with two new hosts — actor and Odd Future alum Travis Bennett and television personality Steelo Brim — replacing co-creators LeBron James and Maverick Carter, who founded the series in 2018. The announcement was made by Fulwell Entertainment, the production company formed through the 2025 merger of Fulwell 73 and SpringHill, the media company James and Carter co-founded. Bennett is known as a member of the Odd Future collective alongside Tyler, the Creator, Frank Ocean, and Lionel Boyce, and for his starring role in the FX comedy series “Dave.” Brim is a longtime co-host of MTV’s “Ridiculousness.” Maverick Carter is expected to remain involved in an executive capacity and will continue working out of the same facility where “The Shop” is produced [1, 2]. The reimagined format pairs the two new hosts with two guests per episode, shifting from the free-flowing ensemble barbershop roundtables that defined earlier seasons toward deeper, more intimate one-on-one styled conversations around cultural moments [1].

Why It Sucks:

Longtime Viewers of the Show

• LeBron’s Rolodex was the whole point. The show’s defining quality was not the barbershop set or the format — it was LeBron James’s personal relationships pulling in guests who would never sit for a conventional celebrity interview, a gravitational draw that no new hire, however talented, can replicate [1].
• The new format shrinks the table and changes the energy. The shift from ensemble roundtables to a two-guest-per-episode structure fundamentally alters what made “The Shop” feel different from every other unscripted celebrity talk format already on television [1].
• The first season without LeBron is a pilot nobody asked for. The viewer base built over seven seasons was built on James’s cultural gravity; returning audiences will effectively be watching a new show wearing a familiar name, with no guarantee their loyalty transfers [1, 2].

SpringHill and Fulwell Entertainment

• An active athlete’s schedule was always a production ceiling. A show tied to LeBron James’s NBA commitments, public controversies, and personal bandwidth cannot scale, syndicate, or produce year-round freely — transitioning to full-time professional hosts removes that structural constraint entirely [1].
• Bennett and Brim are working professionals, not celebrity placeholders. Travis Bennett’s roots in Odd Future give him organic access across music, comedy, and culture; Steelo Brim’s decade-plus on live unscripted television demonstrates he can sustain chemistry under pressure — both have legitimate professional credentials for this format [1].
• Every sustainable media brand eventually outlives its founders. Carter’s continued executive presence behind the scenes signals this is an evolution with institutional continuity, not an abandonment — the format and intellectual property hold real standalone value that can grow beyond any single personality [1, 2].

Black Cultural Critics and Media Observers

• Symbolic authority does not automatically transfer to new hosts. “The Shop” drew its cultural weight from the specific significance of LeBron James and Maverick Carter — two Black entrepreneurs who built their own media company — holding court in a barbershop setting. That symbolism is not a costume Bennett and Brim can put on [1].
• Credentials are real, but they are not why anyone tuned in. Both new hosts have earned their positions in entertainment, but neither commands the cross-genre cultural visibility that made “The Shop” appointment viewing for audiences who would otherwise skip celebrity talk entirely [1, 2].
• Black-owned media platforms are rare enough that departures carry weight. SpringHill remains Black-founded and Carter stays involved at an executive level — but the most publicly visible face of that ownership, LeBron James, is gone, and visibility in Black media entrepreneurship is not a cosmetic detail [1].

Sources & Citations:

[1] Variety: ‘The Shop’ Finds New Hosts to Replace LeBron James and Maverick Carter
[2] Yahoo Entertainment: LeBron James Leaving ‘The Shop,’ Replacements Announced