Rosie O'Donnell is set to make her return to daytime television after the announcement that she will be taking over Meredith Vieira's post on "The View". Vieira will be leaving to replace Katie Couric on NBC's "Today".

From NYT

After emerging teary-eyed from a screening on March 28 of an HBO documentary about a cruise for gay parents and their families, Barbara Walters made a beeline for the film's star, Rosie O'Donnell.

Ms. Walters told her longtime friend Ms. O'Donnell how much she had admired the film, and then, as Ms. Walters later recalled, whispered a question in Ms. O'Donnell's ear: "Would you ever consider coming back to television and being on 'The View'?"

AND

But as they stood outside the screening room at HBO headquarters in Midtown Manhattan, Ms. O'Donnell did not hesitate to give an answer. "For you, I would do anything," she recalled telling Ms. Walters. "Call my agent."

A deal - in which Ms. O'Donnell agreed to join "The View" for at least a year, not only as a co-host but also in Ms. Vieira's role as moderator - was struck in very short order, both women said. And just as Ms. Couric and Ms. Vieira are likely to make a profound impact on their new programs by virtue of their mere presence, so too is Ms. O'Donnell expected to alter the tone and chemistry of "The View." Since its inception in August 1997, the cast of on-air principals - Ms. Walters, Ms. Vieira, Star Jones Reynolds and Joy Behar - had remained intact, other than an occasional substitution in the slot set aside for a more junior co-host, currently Elisabeth Hasselbeck.

AND

Asked on Friday whether she was concerned that Ms. O'Donnell's arrival could prove unsettling to Ms. Jones Reynolds, Ms. Walters said, "The only concern would be Star's."

Posted by Ace

This entry was posted on Monday, May 01, 2006 at 7:27 PM. Want to discuss? Leave a comment below.