Oprah Winfrey to Close Chicago-based Harpo Studios.

Oprah Winfrey


After nearly 26 years, Oprah’s Chicago-based Harpo Studios will close its doors by the end of this year, leaving 200 staffers without a job.

Work began to dwindle at the small production studio, which was established to help with the production of Winfrey’s namesake talk show. Harpo Studios helped revitalize the surrounding Chicago neighborhood. Since the show ended it’s run, production operations have been slowly moving to Winfrey’s new home in Hollywood. The announcement comes two months after the media mogul moved her OWN network into a permanent home in West Hollywood.

The major move doesn’t mean that Oprah’s media empire will be slowing down anytime soon. Her OWN network, while still growing, is ranked 20th among ad-supported cable networks for women, and will continue to expand. After the success of The Butler and Selma, Winfrey will also continue to work in film, and is also rumored to be heading to New York to work on a stage production.