It’s official. Sara Haines is boarding “The View” as a permanent co-host when Season 20 kicks off this fall.
Haines joins returning co-hosts Joy Behar, Candace Cameron Bure, Paula Faris, Raven-Symoné, and moderator Whoopi Goldberg, who will all be back for Season 20, ABC confirmed on Wednesday. Jedediah Bila and Sunny Hostin will also “appear frequently” throughout the season. Haines, the lifestyle anchor on “GMA Weekend,” has been in talks to join “The View” since earlier this summer.
Bila and Hostin have been on “The View” as frequent guest panelists lately. Bila is known from Fox News and will lend commentary on a wide range of political and cultural topics, and Hostin will continue to cover legal stories as the senior legal correspondent for ABC News, which she joined in February.
Confirmation of the Season 20 panel comes after multiple tabloid reports surfaced that Faris would be exiting “The View,” though the network repeatedly shot down those rumors.
Ahead of the Season 20 premiere on Sept. 6, ABC will air a special with Barbara Walters, commemorating the historic season on Aug. 23. “The View: 20 Years in the Making” will feature behind-the-scenes stories, favorite memories from celebrity fans, and a look back at the show’s most talked about moments. Co-hosts from the past 19 years will appear on the special, along with Walters.
“As we prepare for season 20 of ‘The View,’ we will take a look back at its remarkable history,” said Walters. “In our primetime special, celebrating this event, you will see the legacy of the program. I am very proud of the show that I created almost two decades ago. We hope the viewers will take a little time to enjoy ‘The View.’”
