The View is an American talk show that was created by broadcast journalist Barbara Walters and TV producer Bill Geddie. , now in its 30th season, the show has aired on ABC as part of the network's daytime programming block since August 11, 1997. The show features a multi-generational panel of women, who discuss the day's "Hot Topics", such as sociopolitical and entertainment news. In addition to the conversation segments, the panel also conducts interviews with prominent figures, such as celebrities and politicians. Production of the show was held in ABC Television Studio 23 in New York City until 2014, when it relocated to the adjacent ABC Broadcast Center, where it stayed until September 2024, when production relocated to ABC Studio B, also in New York City.
Throughout its entire run, The View has had 24 permanent "co-hosts" of varying characteristics and ideologies, with the number of contracted permanent co-hosts ranging between four and eight women per season. The original panel comprised Walters, broadcast journalist Meredith Vieira, lawyer Star Jones, television host Debbie Matenopoulos, and comedian Joy Behar. The current lineup consists of Behar, entertainer Whoopi Goldberg, lawyer Sunny Hostin, television host Sara Haines, television personality Ana Navarro, and political strategist Alyssa Farah Griffin. In addition, the show often makes use of male and female guest panelists.
The View has won Daytime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Talk Show, Outstanding Informative Talk Show, and Outstanding Talk Show Host. The show has received praise from the Associated Press, Entertainment Weekly, the Los Angeles Times, Slate, as well as The New York Times, which deemed it "the most important political TV show in America". Beginning in its tenth season, the series became subject to on-air controversies and media criticism involving its panel. It was transferred from the helm of ABC's entertainment division to that of ABC News in 2014 following a decline in ratings. By 2021, The View had become the most-viewed news and talk program in daytime television.
Format The original opening credits for The View featured a voice-over from the show's creator and executive producer, broadcast journalist Barbara Walters, explaining the show's premise as well as its co-hosts' credentials:
Walters described it as "a talk show featuring four or five women 'of different backgrounds, different generations, and different opinions,' who would discuss the topics of the day, mixing humor with intelligent debate". The show begins with a segment that features the panel engaging in a discussion pertaining to subjects ranging from politics to social issues as well as pop culture, commonly referred to as "Hot Topics". Every episode features multiple "Hot Topics" segments, which take up to most–if not all–of the day's show. The discussions are frequently followed by interviews with guests. The show also periodically conducts audience giveaways, which often accompanies deal-of-the-day presentations for the home audience under the branding of View Your Deal. Every broadcast concludes with the closing remarks: "Have a great day, everyone, and take a little time to enjoy the view."
The 12th season of The View heavily focused on the events surrounding the 2008 United States presidential election and featured politicians John McCain, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama as guests. Its 13th season saw the introduction of male guest moderators; among them were television personality Tom Bergeron, actor D. L. Hughley, journalist Bryant Gumbel, and television host Joe Scarborough. Male personalities have since begun serving as guests more frequently, specifically on Fridays, dubbed "Guy Day Friday". In 2013, the show was speculated to be "trying to become less political". It began refocusing on politics leading to the 2016 United States presidential election and has reincorporated it back into "Hot Topics" discussions since. During the 25th season, the series introduced weekly episodes that each feature a former co-host as a guest, titled "Flashback Fridays".
Co-hosts Timeline + Co-hosts timeline of The View Co-host Years Seasons 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Meredith Vieira 1997–2006 colspan="9" colspan="21" Star Jones 1997–2006 colspan="9" colspan="21" 1997–1998 colspan="2" colspan="28" Joy Behar 1997–2013, colspan="16" colspan="2" colspan="12" Barbara Walters 1997–2014 colspan="17" colspan="13" Lisa Ling 1999–2002 colspan="1" colspan="5" colspan="24" 2003–2013 colspan="6" colspan="10" colspan="14" Rosie O'Donnell 2006–2007, 2014–2015 colspan="9" colspan="1" colspan="7" colspan="1" colspan="12" Whoopi Goldberg colspan="10" colspan="20" Sherri Shepherd 2007–2014 colspan="10" colspan="7" colspan="13" Jenny McCarthy 2013–2014 colspan="16" colspan="1" colspan="13" Nicolle Wallace 2014–2015 colspan="17" colspan="1" colspan="12" Rosie Perez 2014–2015 colspan="17" colspan="1" colspan="12" Raven-Symoné 2015–2016 colspan="17" colspan="3" colspan="10" Michelle Collins 2015–2016 colspan="18" colspan="1" colspan="11" 2015–2016 colspan="18" colspan="2" colspan="10" Paula Faris 2015–2018 colspan="18" colspan="3" colspan="9" Jedediah Bila 2016–2017 colspan="19" colspan="2" colspan="9" Sara Haines 2016–2018, colspan="19" colspan="2" colspan="2" colspan="7" Sunny Hostin colspan="19" colspan="11" Meghan McCain 2017–2021 colspan="20" colspan="4" colspan="6" Abby Huntsman 2018–2020 colspan="21" colspan="2" colspan="7" Ana Navarro colspan="25" colspan="5" colspan="25" colspan="5"
Seasons 1–10 (1997–2007)
The View premiered with four co-hosts: Meredith Vieira as moderator, Star Jones, Debbie Matenopoulos, and Barbara Walters. Joy Behar, who filled in as the fourth co-host when Walters was unavailable, soon became a full-time co-host. The five women were the first group that auditioned for the panel, with Behar describing them as having immediately clicked. Following Matenopoulos's firing in December 1998, broadcast journalist Lisa Ling was brought on as a new co-host in 1999. Ling departed the show in December 2002 to host the series National Geographic Explorer. Former Survivor: The Australian Outback castaway Elisabeth Hasselbeck replaced Ling beginning November 24, 2003, after Hasselbeck, television personality Rachel Campos-Duffy, and actress Erin Hershey Presley each received a week-long on-air tryout.
In 2006, Vieira left the show to become co-anchor of the NBC morning program Today; her final episode aired on June 9. That same month, Jones also left the show. Her departure, originally scheduled for July, was brought forward by Walters, publicly feeling "betrayed" by Jones for unexpectedly announcing her departure two days ahead of schedule. She also said ABC executives had decided not to renew Jones's contract due to diminished approval for Jones through their market research. Jones later claimed the decision to leave was not hers and that producers informed her that they would not be renewing her contract in April.
During the 33rd Daytime Emmy Awards in April 2006, entertainer Rosie O'Donnell was introduced as a co-host for the show's tenth season; she made her debut on September 5. After a string of controversies O'Donnell left the show in April 2007 due to failed renewal negotiations. The following month, ABC stated that O'Donnell had asked to be let out of her contract three weeks before its expiration and that she had been granted permission to depart immediately.
Seasons 11–18 (2007–2015)
In August 2007, Walters replaced O'Donnell with actress Whoopi Goldberg for season 11. Goldberg debuted during the season premiere on September 4. Actress Sherri Shepherd joined as a permanent co-host beginning September 10. Hasselbeck went on maternity leave from October 2007 to January 2008 and again from August to October 2009, with rotating guest co-hosts filling in during the latter. In August 2009, Walters, Behar, Hasselbeck, Goldberg, and Shepherd won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host. Walters took a hiatus after undergoing open-heart surgery in May 2010 and returned on September 7 during the season 14 premiere broadcast.
In 2013, Behar left the series at the end of season 16. That same month, Hasselbeck was reported to be departing alongside Behar due to market research finding both of their views too "polarizing", which Walters denied. Despite Walters' earlier denial, Hasselbeck indeed departed the show on July 10 to join the Fox News morning program Fox & Friends. Behar's final episode, a This Is Your Life-style tribute to her, aired on August 9. Actress Jenny McCarthy became a co-host the following season and debuted on its premiere broadcast on September 9.
Walters retired on May 16, 2014. Shepherd and McCarthy departed the following month and made their final appearances on August 11.
After making guest appearances during the previous season, actress Rosie Perez as well as former White House Communications Director Nicolle Wallace permanently joined the series in its 18th season, establishing Perez as the series' first Latina co-host; the two debuted alongside O'Donnell, who permanently returned, and Goldberg during the season premiere on September 15, 2014. Perez took a hiatus at the end of the year to rehearse for her role in the play Fish in the Dark and returned on February 3, 2015. That same month, representatives for O'Donnell confirmed that she would once again exit the panel due to "personal reasons"; her final appearance aired on February 12. Actress Raven-Symoné joined the series full-time in June after frequently guest co-hosting, and the following month, comedian Michelle Collins, who had been a frequent guest, was permanently added for the following season. Perez and Wallace exited at the conclusion of the 18th season in August.
Seasons 19–30 (2015–present)
The 19th season saw the return of Behar as well as the addition of actress Candace Cameron Bure and broadcast journalist Paula Faris as co-hosts alongside Goldberg, Raven-Symoné, and Collins, the lattermost of whom departed in June 2016. The following season began with eight rotating co-hosts: Behar, Goldberg, Raven-Symoné, Bure, Faris, television host Sara Haines, lawyer Sunny Hostin, and television personality Jedediah Bila. Additionally, Behar began moderating on Fridays in Goldberg's place. On October 27, Raven-Symoné left the show to star in a spin-off of the sitcom That's So Raven. On December 8, Bure left the program, citing the commute between coasts and her commitments to other television projects as reasons; her final episode as co-host aired the following day.
While Goldberg initially considered leaving after season 20, she remained as moderator for season 21, with Behar, Faris, Haines, Hostin, and Bila all returning as co-hosts. On September 18, 2017, Bila exited the show on air. Television personality Meghan McCain subsequently joined the show after leaving her position at Fox News, debuting as co-host on October 9. After giving birth to a daughter in December 2017, Haines returned from maternity leave in March 2018. Faris departed in July. In the same month, Haines left the show to co-host ABC's new third hour of its morning program Good Morning America; she made her final appearance during the season's penultimate broadcast on August 2.