randkfan
04-10-2006, 09:35 AM
NICE 'VIEW-ISH' GIRL
By DON KAPLAN
April 10, 2006 -- 'THE View" will be different next fall, after the exit of Meredith Vieira for the "Today" show.
The question all over TV this week is: how different?
"There are just two options here," says one powerful morning-show network executive. "They can totally blow it up and remake it by starting over with a new generation of co-hosts. Or just replace Meredith.
"Either way, you're looking at a major change because, out of all five of those women, Meredith is going to be the hardest to replace."
"There's no need to overhaul 'The View,'" Barbara Walters, who created the show nine year ago and co-owns it with ABC, told The Post. "It's an enormously successful show."
CNN's Soledad O'Brien, who formerly co-hosted the weekend edition of the "Today" show, was mentioned early on as a likely replacement.
But late in the week, Connie Chung emerged as the front-runner for the job.
"Everybody Loves Raymond" star Patricia Heaton's name has been tossed around, too, but she's a long shot.
Heaton begins taping a pilot for a new ABC sitcom today in L.A. that the network hopes will revive its comedy line-up.
Kelly Ripa has managed to do double duty - starring in a daily morning show and a weekly sitcom at the same time. But frankly, the network needs a hot comedy more than a new face for "The View."
With about 3 million viewers every day, the media bang that "The View" has created is bigger than its ratings bite. In the realm of daytime TV, it is not even a top-10 show.
But Vieira's departure comes at a point when "The View" seems to be at a crossroads - at least in terms of the chemistry among its hosts.
In recent months, the on-air squabbles between comedian Joy Behar and Star Jones have grown more bitter.
They have argued about everything from religion to Jones' wedding preparations. Two weeks ago, Jones made headlines when she called Behar the b-word during a live exchange, before producers cut Jones off the air.
The two women claim the roiling is all for fun, but Vieira played a major role in keeping the show from veering too far off track.
"We are losing a very valuable member of our cast, but we are five people," Walters said late last week. "It's not like Katie [Couric] is leaving and has to be replaced. Yes, we have to find another panel member - and we will.
"But it's not like, oh my goodness, what do we do now with 'The View?'"
Walters says she'll make her decision within the next eight weeks, before the show goes on hiatus for the summer.
"There are a lot of people who want this job," Walters says. "Some people will be new who we may try out, and a lot of people we already know a good deal about."
But "'The View' is not changing [drastically]" she insists. "It will change because we will have a new person, but as much as we will miss Meredith - and we will - it's exciting for us to have a new member of our panel, just as it's exciting for the 'Today' show and for CBS."
By DON KAPLAN
April 10, 2006 -- 'THE View" will be different next fall, after the exit of Meredith Vieira for the "Today" show.
The question all over TV this week is: how different?
"There are just two options here," says one powerful morning-show network executive. "They can totally blow it up and remake it by starting over with a new generation of co-hosts. Or just replace Meredith.
"Either way, you're looking at a major change because, out of all five of those women, Meredith is going to be the hardest to replace."
"There's no need to overhaul 'The View,'" Barbara Walters, who created the show nine year ago and co-owns it with ABC, told The Post. "It's an enormously successful show."
CNN's Soledad O'Brien, who formerly co-hosted the weekend edition of the "Today" show, was mentioned early on as a likely replacement.
But late in the week, Connie Chung emerged as the front-runner for the job.
"Everybody Loves Raymond" star Patricia Heaton's name has been tossed around, too, but she's a long shot.
Heaton begins taping a pilot for a new ABC sitcom today in L.A. that the network hopes will revive its comedy line-up.
Kelly Ripa has managed to do double duty - starring in a daily morning show and a weekly sitcom at the same time. But frankly, the network needs a hot comedy more than a new face for "The View."
With about 3 million viewers every day, the media bang that "The View" has created is bigger than its ratings bite. In the realm of daytime TV, it is not even a top-10 show.
But Vieira's departure comes at a point when "The View" seems to be at a crossroads - at least in terms of the chemistry among its hosts.
In recent months, the on-air squabbles between comedian Joy Behar and Star Jones have grown more bitter.
They have argued about everything from religion to Jones' wedding preparations. Two weeks ago, Jones made headlines when she called Behar the b-word during a live exchange, before producers cut Jones off the air.
The two women claim the roiling is all for fun, but Vieira played a major role in keeping the show from veering too far off track.
"We are losing a very valuable member of our cast, but we are five people," Walters said late last week. "It's not like Katie [Couric] is leaving and has to be replaced. Yes, we have to find another panel member - and we will.
"But it's not like, oh my goodness, what do we do now with 'The View?'"
Walters says she'll make her decision within the next eight weeks, before the show goes on hiatus for the summer.
"There are a lot of people who want this job," Walters says. "Some people will be new who we may try out, and a lot of people we already know a good deal about."
But "'The View' is not changing [drastically]" she insists. "It will change because we will have a new person, but as much as we will miss Meredith - and we will - it's exciting for us to have a new member of our panel, just as it's exciting for the 'Today' show and for CBS."