ABC has renewed “The View” for its 20th season to start in the fall of 2016. The network plans to make the announcement on Tuesday, along with naming Candi Carter as the show’s first African American executive producer effective immediately. Carter has served as the interim showrunner on “The View” since September, working with consultant Hilary Estey McLoughlin (a veteran executive from CBS and TelePictures Productions) and co-executive producer Brian Teta (“The Late Show with David Letterman”), to help reboot the talk show, which has struggled since creator Barbara Walters retired in May 2013.
It’s been a tumultuous period for “The View,” but the network is counting on a turnaround. Season 18 saw viewership dip after Rosie O’Donnell departed the Hot Topics seat, citing health concerns last February, and Rosie Perez and Nicolle Wallace were ousted over the summer. But the numbers have slightly improved this season to date. “The View” is ranked first in viewers (2.97 million) for the second consecutive week, and it has beat CBS’s competitor “The Talk” in the key demographic for four of the last six weeks.
In season 19, “The View’s” has tried to regain buzz with its panel of Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Candace Cameron-Bure, Paula Faris, Michelle Collins and Raven-Symone. The show has amped up its political debates during Hot Topics and landed interviews with presidential hopefuls such as Bernie Sanders (who appeared on “The View” on the morning after his New Hampshire primary win), Carly Fiorina and Martin O’Malley.
“This season ‘The View’ has once again been at the very heart of the political conversation and cultural conversation in America,” said James Goldston, the president of ABC News. “Candi and the team have worked tirelessly to make ‘The View’ the place to be heard for an impressive roster of celebrities, politicians and people in the news.”
Carter spent 15 years as a supervising producer at “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” and has produced for BET. “It’s an honor to be part of the extraordinary legacy built by Barbara Walters, the exceptional, funny and smart women at the table led by Whoopi Goldberg and a terrific team behind the scenes,” Carter said. “Every day is a thrill.”
It’s too early to say who will be part of next season’s panel of “The View.” Goldberg’s contract is up this year and many of the co-hosts signed one year contracts that may or may not be extended.
