Hot News: Joan Rivers' Death Leaves Big Hole in Fashion Coverage at E!

Image: Evan Agostini/Associated Press

Following the unexpected death of sharp-tongued commentator Joan Rivers, the E! Network has found itself having to cover New York Fashion Week without fashion's most distinctive voice.

The Rivers-hosted Fashion Police was set to film two episodes from the annual event but after Rivers' death Thursday, the network replaced the planned installments with two specials, the first of which will air Friday at 10 p.m. ET, following a tribute, Joan Rivers: Celebrating An Icon. Designer Christian Siriano and style expert Alexa Chung are expected to appear in the program, titled E! From Fashion Week.

The trailblazing comedienne died Thursday at age 81, days after she stopped breathing during a routine throat procedure. In true form, her New York City funeral, to be held Sunday, will reportedly be preceded by a red carpet. But how E! will cover red carpets going forward is still unclear. Namely, the future of Fashion Police is still up in the air as the network begins to make plans for a post-Joan era.

Rivers and daughter Melissa Rivers hosted their first red carpet on E! in 1994, and in 2010, began hosting Fashion Police together.

'Right now we are mourning our beloved Joan,' E! said in a statement. 'We will respond at a later date with programming updates.'

The Fashion Police website is currently still up and wall-to-wall with tribute material. Meanwhile, Rivers' co-hosts - Kelly Osbourne and Giuliana Rancic - have expressed their sadness on social media about her passing.

In addition to the E! special, Dateline is set to have its Friday edition dedicated to coverage of Rivers' legacy. And on Sunday, TV Land plans to celebrate her career with a special programming block that is slated to begin with Rivers' guest appearance on Hot in Cleveland, and continue into repeats of How'd You Get So Rich?, a series in which Rivers interviewed inventors and innovators about their road to wealth.

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