Sassy, smart-mouthed and opinionated, The View isn’t a daytime talk show to be pushed aside. Ratings have been solid for one season now, thanks to the show’s political campaign coverage and current panel of co-hosts, which get along well.
Daytime television is a tough gig, and it can be difficult to test what key demographics are looking for in a talk show.
“Since the beginning of this year, the average audience for “The View” has increased by 1 percent over 2016 while “The Talk” is down 6 percent, the Nielsen company said. “The View” regularly beats its rival now,” reports The Berkshire Eagle.
The format of the show has always revolved around a panel of five women sitting down to discuss the hottest topics in news, ranging from politics, to celebrities. A format that differs from CBS rival, The Talk, which focuses mostly on pop culture. Sometimes politicians and celebrities make appearances, and are coaxed into the spirited discussions with the women.
The ABC News division took charge of the show in 2014 from ABC Entertainment, seeing talk show veteran Hilary Estey McLoughlin take the reins as senior executive producer. In 2016, she established a new producing team consisting of Late Night With David Letterman producer, Brian Teta, and Candi Carter, from The Oprah Winfrey Show. Their goal: to focus more on news and politics. “We wanted to make the show more relevant, and talk about news and politics was at the lead of that because it was the most compelling conversation to be having,” McLoughlin said.
Current co-hosts include moderator Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Paula Faris, Sunny Hostin, Sara Haines, and Jedediah Bila. The previous year saw the exit of Raven Symone and Candace Cameron Bure, and prior to that since 2013, what seemed like a revolving door of co-hosts led to the show’s drop in ratings.
The View, often being criticized for its hard-left leaning panel, saw counter arguments from the ladies that offered viewers new perspective throughout the presidential campaign in 2016. With the addition of Bila, a former Fox News contributor offers her conservative-libertarian point of view. Certainly, this is a side of politics daytime TV often sidelines. She’s not a Trump supporter, and “not a big government girl”, often proclaiming to her co-hosts on air, but even disagreements politically speaking don’t come between her relationships with the women of The View. “The people in Congress may not have respect for one another, but you sure see it on The View. This show is a safe place to grow and blossom, regardless of your opinions,” Bila tells TV Insider in an interview.
The dynamic of these women is telling of the show’s recent Five Daytime Emmy Nominations.
This season marks the show’s 20th anniversary, since Barbara Walters (creator and executive producer of The View) gave it life.
The View airs weekdays on ABC at 11a/10a ET.