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After 22 years as one of Bollywood’s primary sources of celebrity gossip, the curtains will fall for director Karan Johar’s chat show Koffee with Karan for the final time after its ninth season.

The final season of the show, which debuted in 2004, has had a 161-episode run over its eight seasons so far. The final series will begin streaming on JioHotstar from October 14.

The show hosted some of India’s biggest stars across Bollywood and sports, with Johar asking them questions about friendships, romances, marriages and whatever else goes on in their world.

The conversations that followed had a knack for going viral — sometimes for the wrong reasons.

“Koffee With Karan has been such a large part of my identity in the entertainment industry… I still can’t believe it’s been 22 years and now this will be my ninth season,” Variety quoted Johar saying.

He said he had a rewarding experience hosting the show, but the time had come to focus on other pursuits. “I want to spend the next decade of my life directing more movies… telling many more stories… so with a heavy heart I am making this season my last,” the director said.

The show started off very strong with Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol as guests on the inaugural episode. The first season also saw Amitabh Bachchan, his son Abhishek, Aishwarya Rai and filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali sit on the show’s Koffee Kouch.

It was that same star power that propelled its future seasons, with Kajol and Kareena Kapoor being two of the most frequent guests.

Naturally, the show had its share of controversies too, with one episode in 2019 being taken off the Hotstar streaming platform after cricketer Hardik Pandya made derogatory remarks about women.

Both Pandiya and KL Rahul — who was also on the Kouch that day — were briefly suspended from the national team over the incident.

In 2022, the host convinced fans the show was ending with a post that said it would “not be returning”. He clarified hours later that it was no longer going to air on TV and would now stream on Hotstar.

However, it seems this next season will be his last hurrah, with Johar saying, “This will be the last time I will be on a couch that has been synonymous with conversations, candour and well… controversies… The decision is emotional and personal to me… But I am hoping the legacy of love the show has given me continues to brew in people’s hearts.”