Rosie's Return Means Round Two With Barbara Walters

By Ben Widdicombe Posted Mar 23rd 2010 02:00PM

Rosie O'Donnell's plan to return to daytime chat means that viewers will get to watch a fight for Oprah Winfrey's crown that once looked like it would pass smoothly to Barbara Walters and the ladies from 'The View.'

And it's a fight Rosie could win.

After Oprah announced that her 25 years on network television would end in September 2011, 'The View' beat out 'Ellen' in a battle for her coveted time slot. But after a brief peace, Rosie has already come out swinging against her former sparring partners.

"I [know] that 'The View' wants to be on in the Oprah spot," O'Donnell said yesterday on her Sirius Satellite radio program, adding that when Walters asked her when her new show would air, "I said, 'Oh yeah, the Oprah spot' -- to which Barbara's face goes slack-ish."

She was joking, but her glee at the exchange sets the tone for a pitched battle over who will be the new Diva of Daytime. So why will Rosie win?

"She can command an audience," says veteran TV executive Mark Finkelpearl. "Rosie has enormous brand equity and this is clearly a sign that people are ready, willing and able to invest in her again. She does belong in this space [of daytime TV] and she's proven time and again that she can do it."

And let's not forget the slew of Emmys she won during her six years at the helm of 'The Rosie O'Donnell Show,' including five consecutive awards for Best Talk Show. While O'Donnell is often portrayed as a "love her or hate her" figure, Finkelpearl believes that her essential popularity will win out. "When I think of Howard Stern or Bill O'Reilly, those are polarizing figures. With Rosie, she reaches much more of a mainstream audience than people give her credit for," he says.

And there's no question that Rosie is hungry for success. Another source, who has worked with O'Donnell in the past, told PopEater, "Rosie loves a fight, it energizes her. When she left 'The View' and clashed with Barbara, some people thought it was a put-on for the cameras, but she was really fired up. Rosie will relish a chance to go hand-to-hand with Barbara Walters on competing shows."

Rosie has already outined the plan for her new series. She told Entertainment Tonight that it will be "a single topic, hour-long show about life, love and laughter."

O'Donnell added that there won't be a desk or stars promoting their upcoming projects. "It's gonna be a lot different, because I'm a lot older, you know. It'll be a dozen years since leaving my own show when we go back on the air and I've grown a lot and I think that it's time," she said.

With Oprah leaving the stage and Ellen Degeneres diversifying into other formats, like 'American Idol,' the timing seems perfect for the one-time "Queen of Nice" to return to talk. Whether the "Nice"-ness will last in a battle with 'The View' remains to be seen.

Tags: barbara walters, rosie odonnell, the view

Comments

(455)

Tuesday 23 March

By JB & MIC

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This is stereotyping at it's worst. Not all morbidly obese women with diminished intellects are created equal in TV ratings.

By Don

What is her name being bandied about for, she is a loser, except on weight, and a total has been. Nobody even cares about the pig.

By jimbarry1946

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Rosie is just sick.

By Kman

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This is really what we need - a fat, ugly, stupid, liberal lesbian to tell us her opinions about the world. I REALLY want to hear what she has to say.

*Note to sponsors - that was sarcasm.

By Tiger Lily

Lets see, what could a show with Rosie be about...wait, wait, I know....it is about her and since she is so large a person it will be a really big show. It will also be one that I do not intend to watch, ever. It has nothing about her being gay (is she really happy?) it is about her ignorant behavior and self centered attitude about things that she has not the least little clue about.

By Leon Hadley

Please ............ anything but Rosie.

By Larry

Rosie or the View bunch, gosh how do I make a choice. OK everyone you are right, JUST CHANGE THE CHANNEL. Another problem solved very simply.

By rojobil

Rosie is a self hating, bigoted, racist, hetrophobe, she lacks class, grace, humility, as a matter of fact I do not see any redeeming qualities about her, what a waste of humanity

By Terry

They should really take a vote from TV viewers to see if any one wants to watch her. I would rather watch the mean foul mouthed chef than her. She is just plain mean , rude, ugly & a know it all. I think they should send me the money they they are throwing away on her show. Maybe I could pay a plastic surgeon to sew her mouth shut amongst other surgeries.

By john

most tv is garbage..therefore rosie should get her coveted spot...there is no need to explain lesbianism and homosexuality to your children..southpark and family guy and all the talk show and reality crap do it for you...its too late for me now..my kids are almost out of the nest..if i did it again?...the TV would be in the garbage with all of the rest of the trash....

By lili

I am not wild about Rosie. but I would take her any day over a show that had Elizabeth Hasselback in it. To me, listening to Elizabeth is like being in a room of fingernails on a chalkboard.

Either or???? Rosie (NO) The View (NO). Guess I have to watch another channel with different sponsers hopefully. I can not stand bad taste and it reflects by what they pay for. By the way who are any of the sponser of the view?????????????

By Babs

You've got to be kidding! Who in their right mind would actually watch her? I can't believe any network would be stupid enough to put her back on tv.

By bill

Go for it Rosie. The gay-hating Christians are idiots. Too many bigots in America. Maybe you all should go to Russia. This is OUR country too!

By carole

who cares? Surely not me. I would never ever ever watch
any show with Rosie involved. I agree with all of the people who responded. she is hateful, mean and has nothing to say that I want to hear. Ever.

Wednesday 24 March

By terri

I'd rather watch Rosie than those shrews on the View.

Monday 29 March

By Dick

Rosie get yourself a Hoover vacuum cleaner and clean up your carpet. You stink.

By Will

Rosie who?

By parrothead

W H Y is Rosie O'Donell back on ANY program???? She is SOOOOOOO DISGUSTING!!!!!! There are NO redeeming features to her--she's hard to look at with that ugly mouth talking tough like a man--are there that many pathetic people out there that can relate to her enough to support her???? It's a really says alot about this sad world when you look at some of the people the public has raised to star status!!!!

By Greg K

I would rather have knitting needles shoved into my eyes than to watch Rosie.

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