Series Description

The View TV show is a 60 minute talk show series that premiered on August 11, 1997 on ABC. A panel of four or five women discuss entertainment and political news and issues of the day. Opposing views are common and guests are invited to appear and give their points of view which often get them in trouble with the gals.

The View Cast

Barbara Walters (1997-)
Joy Behar (1997-)
Elisabeth Hasselbeck (2003-)
Whoopi Goldberg (2007-)
Sherri Shepherd (2007-)
Meredith Vieira (1997-2006)
Star Jones (1997-2006)
Lisa Ling (1999-2002)
Debbie Matenopoulos (1997-1998)
Rosie O'Donnell (2006-2007)

The View Trivia

The first set on the View TV show was on that was recycled from a soap opera that had been canceled titled, "The City". By the View's fifth season it became apparent that the series had earned its own set and a new one was built.

The View was created by and is executive produced by Barbara Walters (who also serves as a part-time panelist) and Bill Geddie.

Bill Geddie is probably not as well known to fans as is Barbara Walters but he does occasionally appear on the show. Early in The View's production ABC executives said that they felt it would be amusing to put the fellow in charge of the show on the air and have the panelists, his employees, poke fun at him. While Geddie admits he's no on-air personality, he's been happy to help out even when it means being the brunt of a joke. Geddie has also produced all of the Barbara Walters specials. As of November 2011, Geddie has been nominated for 12 daytime Emmys for "The View" and won one of those in 2003 for "Outstanding Talk Show" beating out fellow nominees "Live with Regis and Kelly", "Dr. Phil" and "SoapTalk" for the win! He also was nominated for six Emmys for his Barbara Walters Specials. Believe it or not, Bill finds some spare time to write scripts. Fans can appreciate the one he wrote for the 1996 suspense movie, "Unforgettable" starring Ray Liotta.

Just ten days after The View TV show premiered New York Times critic Caryn James correctly analyzed exactly what sets The View apart from other talk shows with women sitting around talking to each other. Caryn said that while the premise was not a new one, the fact that these women were smart and accomplished made The View seem very different.

When the series premiered Meredith Vieira, Debbie Matenopoulos and Star Jones served as three permanent panelists with Barbara Walters and Joy Behar taking turns to form a four woman panel. Debbie Matenopoulos left the show in December of 1998 and was eventually replaced by Lisa Ling in May of the following year. Lisa left in December of 2002 and was replaced by Elisabeth Hasselbeck in November of the following year. Star Jones left in June of 2006 amid controversy with the show saying it was her idea and her saying that she was fired. Meredith Vieira left at the same time. Rosie O'Donnell filled one of the slots for one season and then Sherri Shepherd and Whoopi Goldberg both joined the cast in September of 2007. It was also announced that Whoopi would become the moderator of the show.

Rosie O'Donnell and Elisabeth Hasselbeck had a huge conflict over their differing views of the war in Iraq. Elisabeth took the Conservative view shared by most Americans at the time that we were liberating the Iraqis from an evil dictator and fighting terrorism. O'Donnell took the view that we were a nation invading a country that wasn't threatening us and killing hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians in the process. Rosie's sometimes harsh style and her viewpoint that wasn't shared by many Americans at that time (but possibly by more today) was the one who had to go.

When Whoopi Goldberg and Sherri Shepherd joined the cast Roseanne Barr, Mario Cantone, Kathy Griffin and Gayle King were also being considered for the jobs.