Rosie says she's coming back. Here's how likely every other The View alum is to join her
All the former The View co-hosts, and how likely they are to actually return for season 30
Rosie O’Donnell says she’s coming back to The View for its 30th season. The show says not so fast.
READ MORE: Rosie O’Donnell says she’ll return to The View for its 30th season
Whichever version turns out to be true, O’Donnell’s comments have got me thinking about the bigger question. If The View really is opening its doors for a proper 30th-season reunion, who else actually turns up?
Full disclosure: I have loved this show for years, and the idea of a proper reunion season has me far more excited than is probably normal for a panel show that doesn’t even air in Australia. Season 30 kicks off in September, and I have thoughts on every single person who has ever sat behind that desk.
A quick disclaimer before we start: everything below is my own speculation. Nobody at ABC (US) has released a guest list, and until they do, this is one very invested fan working through the odds, host by host, in the order they joined.
Meredith Vieira, 1997–2006
Definitely. Vieira was the show’s original moderator, and left on good terms to take over Today before landing Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. There’s no bad blood here, which makes her one of the safest bets on this list.
Star Jones, 1997–2006
Absolutely, and there’s already precedent. Jones’s 2006 exit was messy at the time, but she’s since made peace with the show and returned for its 20th-season special, so a 30th-season appearance feels like a formality.
Debbie Matenopoulos, 1997–1998
Without a doubt. The original panel’s youngest member left under famously awkward circumstances in 1998, but she’s been back plenty of times since, including for that same 20th-season special. Whatever the fallout was, it clearly didn’t stick.
Joy Behar, 1997–2013, 2015–present
No odds needed here. Behar never really left (besides that brief time she was fired only to return two years later), and come September she’ll be sitting at the desk hosting everyone else’s reunion, not attending her own.
Barbara Walters, 1997–2014
The View’s co-creator died in December 2022, aged 93, so she won’t be walking back through those studio doors. Expect her tribute to be one of season 30’s most emotional moments regardless.
Lisa Ling, 1999–2002
I think it’s likely. Ling has stayed close to journalism since leaving, and I could see her showing up out of respect for Walters if nothing else, though a packed documentary filming schedule could easily get in the way.
Elisabeth Hasselbeck, 2003–2013
This is the interesting one. Since Hasselbeck’s exit, there has been real tension with her fellow ex-hosts, and whether she turns up probably comes down to one person: Rosie O’Donnell, who she famously clashed with during O’Donnell’s first stint on the show. History between the two runs deep, but a reunion would be must-watch television. Hasselbeck did sit in Alyssa Farris-Griffin’s seat for a week earlier this week, so it’s not impossible, but I expect she won’t be sharing the screen with O’Donnell any time soon.
Rosie O’Donnell, 2006–2007, 2014–2015
Yes, by her own account, anyway. O’Donnell has already said she’ll appear “in whatever way they want,” even if the show itself is yet to formally confirm it. I can’t wait to see her share the Hot Topics table with Whoopi again.
Whoopi Goldberg, 2007–present
Goldberg is the show’s moderator and will be running the 30th-season celebrations, not returning to them.
Sherri Shepherd, 2007–2014
I’d imagine she’d jump at it. Shepherd’s own daytime show, Sherri, has just been cancelled after four seasons, which frankly feels like a travesty given how good she was at it, but it does free up her calendar considerably.
Jenny McCarthy, 2013–2014
Unlikely. McCarthy has been openly critical of her single, unhappy season on the panel, and she’s kept busy with her own career since. I’d love to see it, but I’m not holding my breath.
Nicolle Wallace, 2014–2015
Unlikely, though I’d welcome it. Wallace has built a serious second career anchoring political coverage since leaving, and that’s a demanding schedule to work a reunion into.
Rosie Perez, 2014–2015
Genuinely not sure on this one. Perez’s brief stint isn’t something I get the sense she looks back on fondly, but her short-lived run deserves recognition, and I’d love to see her get it.
Raven-Symoné, 2015–2016
I think so. Raven has spoken warmly about the crew and about Goldberg specifically, and that kind of loyalty tends to bring people back.
Michelle Collins, 2015–2016
Genuinely uncertain, but I’d love to see it. Collins has already joked online that she’s still “waiting for my call” after O’Donnell’s comments went public, and her on-screen friendship with Behar was one of the underrated pairings of that era.
Candace Cameron Bure, 2015–2016
Unlikely. Bure’s conservative public persona has only sharpened in the years since she left, and she’s also busy fronting her own network’s slate of films.
Paula Faris, 2015–2018
I think this one’s likely. Faris left on relatively low-drama terms and has stayed visible in journalism since, which makes a reunion appearance an easy yes. Faris currently works as the founder and CEO of CARRY Media, a media organisation she launched to advocate for working mothers.
Jedediah Bila, 2016–2017
I have a soft spot for Bila, but I think this is unlikely. When she left the show, she indicated she’d be back, yet in nearly a decade, she’s made just one appearance, returning to The View in November 2021 to promote her book Dear Hartley, an appearance that turned tense after a heated on-air clash with her former co-hosts over Covid-19 vaccine mandates. Bila remains outspoken on her YouTube channel and social media, which doesn’t exactly point toward a friendly season 30 cameo, but I’d genuinely love to be wrong here.
Sara Haines, 2016–2018, 2020–present
Haines is a current co-host, so like Behar and Goldberg, she’ll be on the other side of this reunion, not part of it.
Sunny Hostin, 2016–present
Hostin is part of the current panel and will simply be at the desk when season 30 begins.
Meghan McCain, 2017–2021
Absolutely not, and honestly, that’s what would make it so good. McCain has criticised the show at every opportunity since leaving (a favour her former co-hosts have returned in kind), and I would get an enormous kick out of watching that reunion play out on live television.
Abby Huntsman, 2018–2020
Uncertain, but I’d say likely. Huntsman’s exit wasn’t acrimonious, and she’s stayed connected to the media world since, so there’s no obvious reason to rule her out.
Ana Navarro, 2022–present
Navarro is on the current panel, but she’s also reportedly the one who first floated the reunion idea to O’Donnell, according to O’Donnell’s own representative. So if anyone is quietly campaigning for a proper 30th-season blowout behind the scenes, it’s probably her.
Alyssa Farah Griffin, 2022–present
Another current co-host, and another one who’ll be hosting rather than returning.
So: a handful of definites, a few genuine toss-ups, one delicious “absolutely not”, and at least one host I’m personally hoping proves me wrong. If even half of this panel actually shows up, The View’s 30th season is going to be appointment viewing.
Season 30 is set to premiere in September. Who actually returns remains to be seen. But I’ll be watching, as always.
I’ve been watching The View for years and I love it. It’s not currently airing in Australia, but full episodes are uploaded daily to The View’s official YouTube channel - well worth a watch if you want to see the drama for yourself. Big shoutout too to Behind the Table, [the show’s companion podcast on YouTube], which I also never miss.