The View (talk show)

For other uses, see The View (talk show) (disambiguation).

The View
File:The View Title Card.jpg The View Title Card For Season 11
Created by	Barbara Walters Bill Geddie
Presented by	Barbara Walters (1997-present) Joy Behar (1997-present) Elisabeth Hasselbeck (2003-present) Whoopi Goldberg (2007-present) Sherri Shepherd (2007-present)
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	2,404 (as of November 23, 2007)
Production
Executive producers	Barbara Walters Bill Geddie
Running time	60 minutes
Original release
Network	American Broadcasting Company
Release	August 11, 1997 – Present
Related
Loose Women

The View is an American talk show broadcast on American Broadcasting Company as part of ABC Daytime. Created by Barbara Walters and Bill Geddie, who both also serve as the show's executive producers, the program features a panel of women as co-hosts. Currently, Whoopi Goldberg moderates discussions while the rest of the panel consists of Joy Behar, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Sherri Shepherd and Barbara Walters.

Since debuting in 1997, The View format has been replicated around the world.

History

The View premiered August 11, 1997 replacing Caryl & Marilyn: Real Friends, which was dropped due to low ratings. The original set was a leftover set from a cancelled soap opera, The City; ABC introduced a new set for The View for its fifth season, located within the ABC Television Center in New York City.

A New York Times review published ten days after the show premiered, describes what critic Caryn James thought was distinctive about the show:

The idea of women talking to one another on daytime television is not exactly radical. The idea that those women should be smart and accomplished is still odd enough to make The View seem wildly different. It actively defies the bubbleheads-'R'-us approach to women's talk shows....

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The original panel of The View; Meredith Vieira, Star Jones, Debbie Matenopoulos and Barbara Walters in 1997.

After a year on the air, a review of the show from Salon.com attempted to summarize what had made the show a "(very guilty) pleasure" for its mostly female audience:

The View has caught on with viewers because it gives expression to feelings more complicated, and real, than its detractors realize. Like the Rat Pack, it's all about freedom in an uptight world. Vieira, Walters, et al., have confessed to a lot of things on the show that women are supposed to feel guilty about: forgetting to vote, being too lazy to exercise, hating skinny models, letting the kids watch too much TV, admiring Hollywood's latest hunk. And, apparently, they don't care what people think. Look, I'm not holding them up as role models. And I'm not saying they're representative of the death of feminism, or the rebirth of feminism, or anything like that. I just like the way they don't give a damn. If the Rat Pack was Everyman's id, The View is Everywoman's.

The show premiered with four co-hosts: Meredith Vieira, Star Jones, Debbie Matenopoulos, and Barbara Walters. Walters and Joy Behar initially took turns as the fourth co-host but has since become a full-time co-host. The panel expanded to five when Walters joined in. The subsequent opening credits for the show, featuring voice-over from Walters, made the show's premise explicit:

I've always wanted to do a show with women of different generations, backgrounds and views: a working mother; a professional in her 30s; a young woman just starting out; and then somebody who's done almost everything and will say almost anything. And in a perfect world, I'd get to join the group whenever I wanted....

Bill Geddie, the co-executive producer, is the lone recurring male persona sometimes shown as stepping out from behind camera to interact with the hosts. In an interview with Broadcasting & Cable he stated: "I’m not an on-air personality and I think anybody who’s seen me realizes that. But early on, the network thought it would be kind of fun to see there’s this guy here in charge, but if you watch the show, you see that generally speaking I’m a side player and I’m basically there to get a laugh."

Format

Mostly five women discuss current issues and news items ranging from social and political issues to tabloid headlines and celebrity news. News journalist Barbara Walters has been the permanent host of the show, while four co-hosts support her. Walters, "a co-owner (with ABC) and co-executive producer" of the show, likely has final decisions as to the casting of her co-hosts.

Co-host history

The View has had ten co-hosts in its twelve year run. Barbara Walters and Joy Behar are the only original co-hosts that are still on the program. Walters appears, on average, three days a week. Sometimes guest co-hosts fill-in to ensure there are always four or five people discussing issues.

  Original Panelist   Replacement; Current co-hosts names are in bold.

Seat	Name	First Show	Last Show
1st (Moderator)	Meredith Vieira	August 11, 1997	June 9, 2006
	Rosie O'Donnell	September 5, 2006	May 23, 2007
	Whoopi Goldberg	September 4, 2007
2nd	Joy Behar	August 12, 1997
3rd	Star Jones	August 11, 1997	June 27, 2006
	Sherri Shepherd	September 10, 2007
4th	Debbie Matenopoulos	August 11, 1997	December 24, 1998
	Lisa Ling	May 3, 1999	December 5, 2002
	Elisabeth Hasselbeck	November 24, 2003
5th	Barbara Walters	August 11, 1997

Seasons 1-8 (1997-2005)

For the first couple of years of its existence, the series remained rather controversy-free save for criticism given towards Debbie Matenopoulos, a panelist who was spoofed mercilessly by the critics, who felt that Matenopoulos did not have the proper news credentials for the show. She was ultimately let go in 1999, when her contract was not renewed. Following Matenopoulos' departure, Lisa Ling was announced as the new co-host beating out Rachel Campos-Duffy and Lauren Sanchez who competed in an on-air try-out to fill the vacated seat.

Ling departed in 2002 to host National Geographic Explorer. Former Survivor contestant Elisabeth Hasselbeck replaced Ling in 2003 after Hasselbeck, Rachel Campos-Duffy and Erin Hershey Presley were the finalists in a competition that ended with each of the three getting a week-long on-air tryout.

Season 9 (2005-2006)

The View experienced several host changes through the end of season 9 and the start of season 10.

Vieira's departure

Meredith Vieira announced on April 6, 2006 that she was leaving the show to become co-host of NBC's The Today Show, which Barbara Walters co-hosted in the 1960s and 1970s, first with Hugh Downs, then with Frank McGee, and later Jim Hartz, replacing Katie Couric (who had just announced she was leaving Today to anchor the CBS Evening News). On April 28, 2006 an announcement was made at the 33rd Daytime Emmy Awards that former talk show host Rosie O'Donnell would be joining the show at the start of the tenth season in September 2006.

Jones' departure

The announcement about O'Donnell fueled speculation that Jones would also leave the show. One reason for this speculation was a dispute regarding O'Donnell's public remarks about Jones' dramatic weight loss. Jones publicly stated that her weight loss was a result of diet and exercise, but O'Donnell disputed that saying it was the result of gastric bypass surgery). In a 2007 issue of Glamour magazine, Jones revealed that she had, in fact, undergone gastric bypass surgery in August 2003, leading to her dramatic weight loss over the next four years.

In June 2006 Jones announced her departure on air surprising Walters and ABC. Jones said she would remain on the show through July, but the next day Walters announced that Jones would no longer be a part of The View except for previously recorded segments. Both ABC and Jones have publicly stated that the decision to not renew her contract was not related to the hiring of O'Donnell. In an interview with People magazine, Jones claimed the decision to leave was not hers, and that in April, producers told her that her contract would not be renewed. According to an interview with the Associated Press, Walters stated that ABC executives had apparently decided not to renew Jones' contract as early as the previous fall due to diminished approval for the co-host which was showing up in their market research. Walters said, "We tried to talk them [network executives] out of it, and we tried to give Star time to redeem herself in the eyes of the audience, and the research just kept getting worse." Walters has publicly commented about feeling "betrayed" by Jones, since Jones unexpectedly made the announcement two days ahead of schedule. "I love Star and I was trying to do everything I possibly could — up until this morning, when I was betrayed — to protect her."

Following Jones' departure, the show used guest co-hosts to fill her spot. Various media outlets reported that television personality Gayle King and actress Sheryl Lee Ralph were both interested in the job. Sherri Shepherd eventually took Jones' spot at the table. Jones eventually landed a job with AOL as an "AOL Coach" and subsequently negotiated a deal with Court TV to host her own one-hour talk show, Star Jones which premiered on August 20, 2007. This show lasted less than six months before being canceled, due to a combination of low ratings and the channel's rebranding to truTV and a shift away from a focus on courtroom trial coverage and discussion programming.

On April 2, 2009 Walters brought up Jones' April 1, 2009 appearance on Oprah and discussed her well wishes towards the former co-host. Behar voiced her ambivalence towards Jones and stated that the co-hosts had to lie about her gastric bypass procedure. "What can you say?" said Behar, "We had 10 years with the girl. We had our ups and down and, uh, good luck to her." Behar's annoyance was clear when she went on to say, "Now we all know the truth, so go and have a happy life." Hasselbeck and Shepherd were not as vocal and mostly commented on Jones' physical appearance.

Season 10 (2006-2007)

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The View Season 10 title card.

In September 2006 Rosie O'Donnell made her debut as the new co-host, and moderator of the show. With the new changes in place, including a new set design and new table, September 2006 brought in record ratings. A total of 3.1 million viewers watched that month, the highest total viewership the program has ever seen. The talk show also surged 34% in the advertiser-friendly "women aged 18-49" demographic, and sustained its early season success with its best ever November sweeps period. Entertainment Weekly magazine in March 2007 cited The View as doing for daytime TV what the Daily Show has done for nighttime TV in that it offers viewers a show that deals in genuine opinion and not mere fluff.

During season 10, O'Donnell led the daytime women's chatfest as the moderator steering the opening "Hot Topics" portion of the show. Unlike previous seasons, however, politics and taboo subjects were readily explored with the two comics (O'Donnell and Joy Behar) quickly finding humor in the news of the day and often giving strong opinions against then-President George W. Bush's policies including the war in Iraq which was losing support amongst Americans. As a counterpoint to O'Donnell's more liberal views, conservative co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck would often support the Bush Administration's views and the two would get into an adversarial give-and-take at least until both had made their points.

Always outspoken, O'Donnell sometimes crossed a line with certain audiences when the comedian would talk politics or veer into religious discussions, at one time stating "radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam". Often clips from the show would be recirculated by other media outlets, often surprising The View co-hosts. In reaction, O'Donnell lamented that news outlets were focusing on less important subjects like her comments instead of more important issues.

The View achieved higher ratings with Rosie O'Donnell's outspoken and candid nature moving the show into a newsworthy spectrum from traditional daytime talk fare. She was sometimes criticized for not acting as much as a moderator for discussion as much as a spokesperson for various, often liberal, viewpoints. As a big-name talent she drew criticism for her opinions while keeping the show's "buzz factor" up. The downside of being spontaneous and putting her views in front of a national audience was that such remarks were often the subject of controversy and criticism, especially by conservative commentators and other media outlets, who recirculated comments and clips from the show. The show has continued to address more substantive subjects even after her departure.

O'Donnell departure

On April 25, 2007 O'Donnell announced she would be leaving the show as a co-host when her contract expired because the network could not come to terms on the length of a new contract. She did, however, say that she planned to return as an occasional correspondent.

Hasselbeck/O'Donnell argument

O'Donnell has been outspoken about her condemnation of many Bush administration policies including the entire Iraq War. She consistently brought up recent military deaths and news about the war, and criticized the US media for its lack of coverage on the Bush administration's actions and policies. On May 17, 2007 O'Donnell rhetorically asked, "655,000 Iraqi civilians dead. Who are the terrorists? [I]f you were in Iraq and another country, the United States, the richest in the world, invaded your country and killed 655,000 of your citizens, what would you call us?" Conservative commentators claimed O'Donnell paralleled American soldiers to terrorists.

On May 23, 2007 a heated discussion ensued because of what O'Donnell perceived as a lack of willingness of conservative co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck to defend O'Donnell's right to disagree with invading Iraq and the resulting military occupation. O'Donnell also stated the right-wing media would portray her as a bully attacking "innocent pure Christian Elisabeth" whenever they disagreed and she believed Republican pundits were mischaracterizing her statements. The debate became more heated when co-host Joy Behar and guest host Sherri Shepherd made joking attempts to end the discussion. The incident was widely covered in mainstream media including a split-screen shot of O'Donnell and Hasselbeck arguing. The following day Kathy Griffin sat in for O'Donnell who was celebrating her partner Kelli's birthday. The day after that ABC announced that O'Donnell had asked to be let out of her contract nearly a month before its expiration and was given permission to leave immediately. ABC News reported that her arguments with Hasselbeck brought the show its best ratings ever.

According to ABC News, O'Donnell said that she knew her time on the show was over when she saw the exchange reported in the news media with the split screen effect showing her and Hasselbeck on either side. O'Donnell has stated she bore no ill will towards Hasselbeck and she loves all the co-hosts. In Jahero, O'Donnell later stated she had not talked to Hasselbeck but was "stunned" Hasselbeck subsequently brought up Donald Trump, with whom O'Donnell had publicly feuded. While the number of viewers was higher than the year before O'Donnell joined the show, in the month following her departure, viewership was down by an average of 232,000.

O'Donnell stated after her departure that Walters and other show hosts wear earpieces through which backstage producers instruct them what to say. O'Donnell refused to wear an earpiece to be coached on how to remark.

Replacement moderator

A variety of different names were floated around as replacements for O'Donnell during the tenth season's final months. Among those reportedly considered to replace O'Donnell were Whoopi Goldberg, Gayle King, Sherri Shepherd, Kathy Griffin, Roseanne Barr and Mario Cantone. On August 1, Barbara Walters ended speculation announcing that Goldberg would be replacing O'Donnell as moderator for the eleventh season. When asked by Joy Behar if she liked engaging in celebrity feuds, Goldberg responded by saying she has no plans to feud with any of her co-hosts. However, an article in the L.A. Times "Show Tracker" column on July 26, 2007, had the following quote: "She is exactly what the show needs,” said Hollywood publicist Howard Bragman. “She is a beloved brand name; she is outspoken; she has done this before, she is a person of color; she is as far left as Rosie; she lives in New York; and she can kick Elizabeth Hasselbeck’s ass."

Prior to the official announcement that Goldberg would be joining the program, various media outlets reported that both Goldberg and Sherri Shepherd would be added to the panel. In Touch magazine reported that a deal for Shepherd to join The View fell through after negotiations went awry over a salary dispute. Along with Shepherd, The View was reportedly also in talks with radio personality Jacque Reid and comedian Kathy Griffin to join the show.

Season 11 (2007–2008)

File:TheViewCurrent.jpg

The View's panel (2007–present) includes Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sherri Shepherd, Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Barbara Walters.

The View returned for its eleventh season on September 4, 2007 with celebrity guest Danny DeVito. Returning from season 10 were Joy Behar, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, and Barbara Walters. The season premiere also marked Whoopi Goldberg's first official day as co-host and moderator of the program. Preliminary ratings show that 3.4 million people watched the debut episode, roughly 1 million less than season 10's debut with O'Donnell, but still ranking as the show's second highest season premiere.

Walters announced on September 10 that Sherri Shepherd was joining the panel as the fifth permanent member. This marks the first time since Meredith Vieira left in 2006 that the show features a complete panel of five co-hosts (although Hasselbeck began an extended maternity leave in November). It also marks the first time in the show's history that two African-American co-hosts are part of the same panel. With the addition of Goldberg and Shepherd, The View has garnered its highest ratings ever. After two weeks, The View under Goldberg is averaging 3.5 million total viewers, a 7% increase from 3.3 million under O'Donnell last season.

In addition to two new co-hosts, the show's set underwent a transformation from blue to orange, Behar returned to the 2nd position seat (next to the moderator), and the format of full-hour Hot Topics was introduced allowing more in-depth conversations and debates. Other changes and additions included a week of episodes from Las Vegas (the show's first time in the location), an episode with limited commercial breaks (sponsored by T-Mobile), and various segments pertaining to changes in Whoopi's life (quitting smoking, losing weight, and rehearsing for her role in Xanadu (musical) to name a few).

On 16 October 2007 it was announced that Elisabeth Hasselbeck would begin her maternity leave as of October 23, 2007. Hasselbeck returned to the show when the show returned from Christmas hiatus on January 7, 2008. While Hasselbeck was on maternity leave her seat was filled by a rotating guest cast. An article in the Boston Globe a week later stated: "When Elisabeth Hasselbeck bade farewell to her cohosts on "The View" Tuesday, it was all hugs, well-wishes, and baby-product endorsements. But as Hasselbeck begins her 2 1/2-month maternity leave, the political landscape is shifting, as well. America's most dangerous conservative - or so some liberals see it - is leaving TV for a while." It went on to say: "Hasselbeck, the apple-cheeked blonde with the football-player husband, consistently draws a brand of hatred from the left that Hillary Clinton generates from the right; "screechmonger" is one of the more printable slurs hurled at her from the blogosphere. Barry Manilow has called her "offensive" however it's interesting that an America's sweetheart-type would generate such vitriol says a lot about the state of debate in a polarized country."

The View from Las Vegas

For the week of June 23, 2008 (June 23-27), The View was live from Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas with guest including Bette Midler, Kim Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian, David Cook, David Archuleta, Wayne Brady, Penn and Teller, Jessica Simpson, Danny Gans, Rita Rudner, and Cirque du Soleil. The show was shot in front of Caesar's Palace with heavy promotion of Midler's The Showgirl Must Go On which is performed in the Coliseum, the hotel's theater.

Michael Vick discussion

The new season opened with its share of controversy when Goldberg commented on the role football player Michael Vick played in a dog-fighting scandal. Of the Atlanta Falcons football player she said, "He's from the South, from the Deep South... This is part of his cultural upbringing... For a lot of people, dogs are sport... Instead of just saying (Vick) is a beast and he's a monster, this is a kid who comes from a culture where this is not questioned." Behar took issue with Goldberg's comments and asked, "What part of the country is this? How about dog torturing and dog murdering?" Goldberg's comments also were denounced by Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States, who noted that dogfighting is outlawed in all fifty U.S. states and is considered a felony in all but two: Idaho and Wyoming. Goldberg defended herself the following day by explaining she was attempting to explain Vick's actions from a cultural view but was in no way condoning or excusing him.

Marcel Marceau's death conversation

On the September 25, 2007 show, Goldberg criticized two ABC news anchors for the manner in which they reported the death of French mime Marcel Marceau on World News Now, the network's overnight newscast. Describing Marceau as "the greatest mime of his time" and a "huge influence" on how she performs, Goldberg said she was moved to speak out on Taina Hernandez and Ryan Owens presentation of Marceau's death as "disrespectful" and "poorly handled by the two anchors". "If you are a news person and you don't understand the person you are talking about, don't make fun of them," Goldberg added.

Clinton baby plan discussion

On October 3, 2007 Hasselbeck and Goldberg got into a discussion about Hillary Clinton's $5000 baby entitlement which became heated due to Hasselbeck stating that it would lead to fewer abortions due to women wanting to keep the money. Goldberg warned Hasselbeck to "back off a little" and asked her if she "had ever been in that position to make that decision". Goldberg also stated,

Most people do not want to have abortions. Most women do not have them with some sort of party going on. It is the hardest decision that a woman ever- wait- ever has to make. So, when you talk about it, a little bit of reverence to the women out there who have had to make this horrible decision. And one of the reasons that, that we have had to make this decision is because so many women were found bleeding, dead, with hangers in their bodies because they were doing it themselves. The idea of this was to make it safe and clean. That was the reason the law came into effect. That was why it was done.

The "n-word"

Prompted by Jesse Jackson, and his use of nigger before an interview on Fox and Friends, the panel got into a discussion about its use and history. Goldberg and Shepherd explained that it's a word "that has meaning when you give it meaning" and that "we use it the way we wanna use it," emphasizing its acceptance within the black community. Saying they had reappropriated the word and, in part, re-purposed its usage. Hasselbeck asked how could she tell her child that she can not say it, but "Billy, the African-American child," can. Hasselbeck voiced frustration about its use in pop culture and how its negative past only encourages division. "How are we supposed to then move forward when we keep using terms that bring back that pain," said Hasselbeck, tearfully, following Goldberg's statement that "we don't live in the same world." Later that week Behar hosted Larry King Live and moderated a debate about the segment on The View. Fran Drescher was a guest and said she found Hasselbeck's crying awkward and didn't understand what made her so upset. Hasselbeck called into the program and expressed her disappointment, on air, to Dreschers' remarks.

Season 12 (2008-2009)

The View returned from summer hiatus on September 2 with the 'Hot Topics' section covering items from the past few months and a performance from New Kids on the Block. For the week of March 9-13, 2009, the show was broadcast from the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California, a first for the show.. On August 7, the final episode of Season 12 will be broadcast; The View will be on summer hiatus at that point. Season 13 will premiere in September of 2009.

Presidential election

The View has consistently covered events related to the 2008 United States presidential election with attention towards the issues affecting women in particular and more broadly, the United States. They closely followed Senator Hillary Clinton's campaign in the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination race. Clinton won more primaries and delegates than any other female candidate in American history, but after a long campaign, Senator Barack Obama became the party's presumptive nominee in June 2008 and Clinton endorsed him. Likewise attention was focussed when Senator John McCain chose Sarah Palin as his Republican vice-presidential running mate in August 2008. Palin is the first female vice presidential pick on a major party ticket since Geraldine Ferraro in 1984, and the first in the history of the Republican Party. Since Palin was largely unknown outside of Alaska prior to her selection by McCain, her personal life, political positions, public image and reception all became the focus of intense media attention and scrutiny.

Several of the discussions on The View became heated and many were also subsequently reported in other major media outlets. Political comedian Bill Maher's September visit made Elizabeth Hasselbeck visibly uncomfortable with his disparaging comments about Palin and his agnostic views which is counter to Hasselbeck's conservative Christian beliefs. He was also promoting his upcoming film Religulous which is a satirical documentary that questions the concept of religion and the perceived problems it brings about.

In another discussion, Palin's comments regarding the age of Senator Joe Biden, the Democratic running mate of Obama, prompted Barbara Walters to ask Hasselbeck about Palin's experience and therefore qualification to run the United States. The back and forth ended when they went to commercial break but other media outlets tied the tension to reported rumors that Hasselbeck would be leaving for Fox News and former View auditioner Rachel Campos-Duffy had been contacted about returning as a guest co-host.

Political wardrobe

Hasselbeck, due to her continual advocacy for the Bush Administration, McCain and Palin, became a formal part of the election. CNN noted the tension between Hasselbeck and the other hosts as arguments that escalated after the "hard-hitting" interview they did with McCain. Hasselbeck designed and wore a pro-McCain ("Great AmeriCain Hero") t-shirt which caused the show to field a large number of complaints. The following day Walters noted that it was a political advertisement and not appropriate after the "Hot Topics" segment had finished. Hasselbeck's design was later given to raise funds at McCain's election website. Hasselbeck was noted as the celebrity designer for McCain in contrast to Beyoncé and Tina Knowles (House of Deréon) for the Obama campaign. Another clothing issue, in regards to Palin, was being discussed at the same time. A financial disclosure report showed that US$150,000 had been spent on Palin's wardrobe, hair and makeup as well as clothing and accessories for her family. This was held in contrast with Palin's hockey mom rhetoric. Palin's campaign invited, and Hasselbeck agreed, to introduce Palin at several Florida stops. Hasselbeck used the opportunity to take "a stab at her co-hosts" noting she could speak without being interrupted; she also asserted that focusing on Palin's wardrobe was sexist. Media critics have discounted the sexist concerns noting that similar issues with male candidates have also been extensively covered. Campaign developments and footage of Hasselbeck on the campaign trail were routinely covered by the show.

Post election same-sex marriage issues

Whoopi Goldberg at a "No on Proposition 8 protest" in New York City after the elections.

The day after the 2008 election, November 5, was the highest rated show in The View history. The panel discussed election results including state-level initiatives and elections. Same-sex marriage issues became a source of heated exchange. The co-hosts are somewhat split in the views with two on either side of the issue and Walters maintaining journalistic neutrality. One such election result was the passing of California's Proposition 8, which defined that only marriages between a man and a woman would be valid or recognized in the state of California. The co-hosts had differing views on the many intertwined issues and outcomes of the election, as well as the protests and legal issues that continue to generate media attention. Hasselbeck and Shepherd both support the proposition, with Shepherd stating she defends a Biblical definition of marriage, although she was unable to explain what that entailed when asked by the other hosts. Behar and Goldberg both opposed the proposition, with Goldberg correcting some misinformation from Hasselbeck and Shepherd; Goldberg also took part in New York City's protest against the proposition's passage. The continued unfolding events surrounding the legal challenges to the measure and protests have remained a subject of many "Hot Topics" discussions and regularly brought up in interviews.

The View from the Walt Disney Studios

From the week of March 9 - March 13, 2009 The View broadcasted live from the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. The View has guests such as Lady GaGa, Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, Robert Iger, John Lasseter, Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel, Keyshia Cole, Heidi Montag, Spencer Pratt, Calista Flockhart, Sally Field, Patrick Dempsey, Jewel, the cast of Dancing with the Stars and Doug Savant. Each day the hosts were escorted by a different Disney character including Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Donald Duck, Cinderella, and WALL-E.

Ratings

For the week ending February 2, 2009, Nielsen Media Research reported the key demographic of women ages 18–34 and ages 18–49 favored the show. The View was tied with General Hospital for the top spot for both groups. For the fourth week running, The View was the daytime’s third highest rated show with 4.42 million total viewers for the 18-34 group. ABC Daytime shows, four soap operas and The View, were the top five shows for 18-49 women television watchers.

Season 13 (2009-2010)

Season 13 of The View is set to premiere in September of 2009.

Awards

The View's longtime director Mark Gentile received a Daytime Emmy Award in its first year and again in 2004. The show's producers shared the "Outstanding Talk Show" Emmy in 2003 with The Wayne Brady Show. In 2008, The View won an Emmy for "Outstanding Special Class Writing" for a specially-themed Autism episode broadcast when Rosie O'Donnell was co-host. Janette Barber, Rosie O'Donnell's longtime friend and producer/writer of the Rosie O'Donnell Show, accepted the award on behalf of herself and the other two winners, Christian McKiernan and Andrew Smith.

Since 1999, the show's hosts have received Emmy nominations every year, although they have not won. The View has won a NAACP Image award in 2009 for best talk series.

Parodies

Since the show's premiere, The View has been the subject of numerous parodies. One such was a recurring skit on Saturday Night Live in the late 1990s, portraying Jones, Vieira, Behar, and Walters as jealous older women and Matenopoulos as a simple-minded bimbo, who was consistently being punished for making stupid comments. Barbara Walters was one of Cheri Oteri's best known impersonations during her tenure on Saturday Night Live. In 2005, MADtv parodied the show in a sketch, exaggerating the women's speech as simultaneous bickering and featuring Michael McDonald as a farmer treating the women as hens, tossing chicken-feed on the ground and producing eggs from the women's seats. It was also parodied on the animated show Family Guy, in which Stewie is quarantined in a glass ball such that Brian gets to watch whatever he wants. Brian takes advantage of his freedom by selecting the one show that Stewie can't stand: The View. The women are clucking like chickens and Star Jones lays an egg. They were also parodied in The Simpsons with the show being called "Afternoon Yak" where the members of Afternoon Yak resemble the hosts of The View. The studio audience has also been compared to seals, as there are many breaks for applause during the show. In Zoey 101, it's parodied as "Point of View" in the episode "Anger Management." On Season 5 of The L Word, Alice, played by Leisha Hailey, was invited to replace a lesbian former co-host on the show "The Look." On November 1, 2008 Saturday Night Live unleashed a modern parody of the show. The parody depicted Hasselbeck as shrill and unreasonable, Goldberg as condescending, and Behar as indifferent and fed up with the bickering. Walters was not present, and Shephard was replaced by guest host Jennifer Aniston, played by SNL newcomer Casey Wilson. A short webisode of the teen Canadian drama Degrassi featured several of the female stars of the show in a talk show called "DeView" that takes place in the foyer of Degrassi High. On the 30 Rock episode The Rural Juror, Rachel Dratch parodies Barbara Walters interviewing Jenna Maroney. Walters is depicted as being hard to understand and even asks the question "Mig meg meg gleg meg tennis meg gleg fleg?"

Accusations of bias

The View has been accused of a variety of forms of bias over the years.

While diverse in terms of host age and backgrounds, the show has been criticised by many conservatives for what is seen as a liberal bias and a lack of diversity in political views. However, the show has had several conservative guest hosts (e.g., Ann Coulter, Laura Ingraham, Dennis Miller, Kathie Lee Gifford) and regular co-host Hasselbeck is an outspoken pro-life conservative. In the 9 April 2007, issue of People magazine, Hasselbeck stated that she and O'Donnell get along well off-stage, that they e-mail frequently, and that she credits O'Donnell with inspiring her to speak out more on the program.

During a Sirius XM Stars radio interview with documentary film maker John Ziegler, Barbara Walters said that she agreed that "The View sometimes seems to have a liberal bias," continuing "sometimes, but that's why it's called The View".

On January 21, 2003 Jennifer O'Neill was a guest on the show promoting her "Silent No More" campaign with the goal of reducing teenage abortions. Having had an abortion herself, O'Neill spoke about her personal experience. Conservatives believed she was handled harshly by hosts and ridiculed by actress Katey Sagal in the following segment.

Joy Behar has said that conservatives are "so annoying", but that she would likewise take on liberals if they were in power. Nevertheless, conservatives contend that Hasselbeck is the only conservative on the show, as opposed to the liberal presence of Behar and Goldberg. Of the remaining co-hosts, Sherri Shepherd, has professed to be "not savvy in the political arena". and Walters declines to state political affiliations due to her journalism career.

There also have been accusations of religious and racial bias levied against the program. Walters has been accused of tolerating anti-Catholicism, including Behar, who was raised Catholic, regularly poking fun at subjects including sainthood and communion. Barry Manilow refused to appear on the show for a political reason. He was scheduled to be interviewed by conservative Hasselbeck instead of the more liberal Whoopi, Joy or Barbara, the article further stated, "a source close to 'The View' said 'we canceled him,' because producers refused to comply with Manilow's 'completely disrespectful' demands."

International broadcasts

• In Australia, The View is shown on the W., Nine Network and WIN, airing around twelve hours after the original United States airing.
• In Canada, The View is available on the CTV broadcast network in simulcast with ABC (subject to Canada's simsub rules). As of September 2008, it is also rerun in the afternoon on Star! (which is also owned by CTV).
• In New Zealand, The View is screened on the Vibe channel on Sky satellite television. Episodes are delayed by one week.
• In the Philippines, the show is simulcast live on Velvet.
• In South Africa, The View is broadcast on SABC3.
• In the United Kingdom the format has been marketed as 'Loose Women' and broadcast on the ITV network since 1999.

See also

• The Catch-Up, a now-defunct Australian version of The View

External links

• The View at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com