Variety reported Thursday that ABC executives are finalizing plans to reboot The View yet again for the fall season. Pseudo-Republican Nicolle Wallace and liberal actress Rosie Perez may not return:
While moderator Whoopi Goldberg will remain as the face of the struggling daytime talker, the future of two of her co-hosts, Nicolle Wallace and Rosie Perez, is in doubt. One or both women could be dropped because network execs are underwhelmed with their contributions to the show’s signature Hot Topics segment, which is expected to shift focus permanently toward more lighthearted celebrity fluff....
In the winter, ABC bosses reached a decision to quietly let Perez go from The View, until a Variety story announced the plan before they were ready, forcing them to backtrack. But if Perez does exit the show this time, the decision could be mutual, according to sources, since the actress has been thinking about returning to movies.
As for Wallace, she’s been heard joking with staff that she could be booted from The View at any minute. The former White House communications director, who has a second job as a commentator on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, hasn’t ignited the Hot Topics table in the way that the show’s former resident Republican, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, did, and has been criticized for her lack of knowledge about celebrities. “She’s too wonky,” says a source.
Instead of being a regular co-host, ABC is also considering a scenario where Wallace shifts to a spot on the rotating panel.
Wallace was brought in as part of the Rosie O’Donnell team, as a Republican who bowed and scraped enough to please O’Donnell, who thought Hasselbeck wasn’t supportive enough. “Igniting” the Hot Topics was never in her job description.
According to Variety, Disney/ABC Television Group president Ben Sherwood has long liked the idea of expanding Good Morning America, but is constrained by ABC stations being contractually locked in to air Live With Kelly and Michael. ABC could do a third hour of GMA in the View slot if they can’t keep this wheezing old chat show going.
