A Funnier View With Whoopi, Sherri, and Joy

After Rosie O'Donnell's much publicized departure from The View, the show isn't just trying to fill her empty spot, but also the one vacated by Star Jones a year ago. The show did well in the ratings last year with O'Donnell at the helm, so is obviously going for that same feel as they work towards signing actress/comedian Whoopi Goldberg. Yet, they're also working on filling that spot previously held by Jones, and have reportedly signed actress/comedian Sherri Shepherd, but are waiting to make one big announcement on filling both of the spots for the upcoming season.

There's no sense in rehashing the O'Donnell's tenure on the show. It's been talked about so many times, there probably isn't much left to say. We can sum it up enough to say that while O'Donnell happens to have a natural comedic gift, she can also be very confrontational, and that part of her personality, while bringing many viewers, wasn't exactly fitting for a daytime talk show about news and celebrities. At some point, ABC needed to realize that while they were gaining viewers to the show, it was really more or less just a media gaper's block, with people stopping in just to see the train wreck.

Perhaps ABC has realized this, and their attempts at hiring Goldberg is to keep the fun O'Donnell feel, but lose the antagonism. The two are both great comedians, have both appeared in movies, have both led their own talk shows, and are both outspoken with a more liberal point of view. However, it doesn't seem that Goldberg would feel the need to beat everyone else about the head with her view, although she seems like she'd be upfront with her views.

Yet, the puzzling thing is why Sherri Shepherd is the other replacement. Not that she isn't just as funny, as she's shown in her guest hosting positions on the show as well as her celebrity reporting stints on Ellen DeGeneres' show, yet it's another actress/comedian. What made this show work originally was the balance of personalities onboard. Along with Jones, an attorney, Barbara Walters, a news journalist, and Joy Behar, a comedian, there were also another journalist in Meredith Viera and an unknown in the very young Debbie Matenopoulos.

If ABC is successful in getting a contract worked out with Goldberg, this will make three comedians on their roster of five, between her, Shepherd and Behar. Sure, it'll be a fun show, but isn't this taking away from the original concept of stating all these different viewpoints in one daily forum? Time will tell if this formula will be successful, but I would expect initial success as everyone tunes in to see how it will work out with Goldberg. After that, I think the success of the show will be up in the air.