When veteran television journalist Barbara Walters began her own morning talk show, The View, her aim was to bring together a group of smart, savvy women from different walks-of-life to share their opinions and discuss issues of the day.  The show premiered on ABC on August 11, 1997 and has been a huge hit with female audiences in particular from the very beginning.  The show's original hosts were Meredith Vieira as moderator, lawyer Star Jones, comedian Joy Behar, and Debbie Matenopoulos providing a more youthful point-of-view; Barbara Walters herself, busy with news anchoring duties, would generally participate about three days a week.

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The View is broadcast live weekday mornings at 11AM EST from ABC Studios on New York City's Upper West Side.  The show has been regularly nominated for Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Daytime Talk Show and Outstanding Talk Show Host, and has received numerous awards including the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding TV Talk Show, the Good Housekeeping Great Works Award, the Safe Horizon Champion Award, and the Gracie Award, among others.

The hallmark of The View is that it brings together women of different ages and backgrounds to talk with honesty, humor, and passion about everything from family to entertainment to politics.  The show opens with a lively segment called Hot Topics in which the gals weigh in on a handful of "issues" -- some more consequential than others.  The rest of the hour-long program is devoted to interviews with celebrities and with experts on subjects such as health and fitness, as well as the occasional musical performance.  The variety of guests -- from American Idol winner Katharine McPhee to TV mom Doris Roberts -- is reflective of The View's aim to have inter-generational appeal.

For those more inclined to the late night shows, the parodies of The View are as famous as the real thing.  A recurring Saturday Night Live sketch used to have Cheri Oteri playing an irritable Barbara Walters, often punishing the Debbie Matenopoulos character for her stupid comments; meanwhile Tracy Morgan played Star Jones as an insufferable know-it-all, always proclaiming "I am a lawyer!"  Though it was only a parody, it may have been prescient:  When Matenopoulos's contract was up, she was not invited back to the show, and Channel One's Lisa Ling was brought in to replace her as the "young host" (Ling was later succeeded by former Survivor contestant Elisabeth Hasselbeck).

Much more controversial was the departure of Star Jones in June of 2006.  Jones lost a great deal of weight as she prepared for her 2004 wedding to banker Al Reynolds, and her constant talk of the weight loss and her impending marriage appeared to alienate a portion of the audience ... and even her co-hosts (Star and Joy Behar frequently sniped at each other).  Then came the announcement that The View's own Meredith Vieria would be taking Katie Couric's job at The Today Show, thus leaving Vieria's crucial position open.  To take the spot, Barbara Walters appointed comedian and actress Rosie O'Donnell, who had in fact criticized Jones publicly for not revealing that her weight was lost through gastric bypass surgery.  Jones was hurt that Walters would hire O'Donnell under the circumstances, and felt that she was no longer wanted there.  Amidst rumors that ABC wanted to fire Star, and days before the official announcement was to be made, Jones told her surprised co-hosts on-air that she would be leaving.  The very next day she was gone for good.   

On September 4, 2006, a new era began for The View when Rosie O'Donnell joined the ladies on set.  With her animated enthusiasm, sharp sense of humor, and penchant for giving big prizes to the studio audience, Rosie breathed fresh life into the show.  As an out lesbian, she offers a new  -- and possibly controversial -- perspective to The View.  Initial reactions from the show's fans were mixed, given Rosie's love-her-or-hate-her reputation.  But the numbers don't lie, and The View's viewership shot up considerably for her first week.  It was a smashing start for The View's 10th season and a good sign of things to come. 

The View is produced by ABC Daytime and Barwall Productions, with Barbara Walters serving as executive producer alongside Bill Geddie.  The show is broadcast every weekday morning in front of a live studio audience.  For extensive information on how to get free tickets to join The View's audience, read about our TV Ticket Guide here.