ABC daytime talk show The View will return for its 30th season with all six current co-hosts remaining in their seats.
The network confirmed the unchanged lineup of Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sara Haines, Ana Navarro, Sunny Hostin, and Alyssa Farrah Griffin on Thursday through a new promotional teaser video, ending months of speculation that outgoing White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt or former co-host Rosie O'Donnell would join the regular panel.
The milestone 30th season is scheduled to premiere on September 8. The promotional clip opens with a retrospective look at the inaugural 1997 season featuring creator and late broadcast journalist Barbara Walters, before cutting to Haines asking her colleagues, "30 years. Can you believe it?" The remaining five panelists chime in throughout the clip to celebrate the landmark anniversary.
Producers target White House press secretary
Despite the official lineup remaining unchanged, executives and producers on the show have been actively pursuing outgoing White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt to join the panel, according to two sources who spoke to the Daily Mail. Leavitt, 29, announced earlier this month that she would leave her position at the end of August to spend more time with her newborn daughter Viviana and two-year-old son Nicholas. Thursday marked her final official day as press secretary.
Leavitt is said to be considering the idea, which has received enthusiastic support from President Donald Trump and other White House officials. One source stated that producers initially want to host Leavitt as a guest shortly after she leaves the White House as a test run, but remain serious about adding her to the all-female daytime lineup as a permanent fixture.
A second source told the Daily Mail that formal negotiations have not officially begun, though ABC representatives have communicated their clear interest to people close to Leavitt. Under federal regulations, government officials cannot legally negotiate private sector employment opportunities while still in office, making discussions regarding future media positions delicate.
Neither ABC nor Leavitt responded to requests for comment. However, a source familiar with the program confirmed that The View has formally extended an invitation to Leavitt to appear as a guest.
Past clashes with current panel
The prospect of Leavitt joining the panel comes after several current hosts personally criticized her performance as press secretary. Goldberg previously voiced anger over Leavitt's public comments condemning "wokeness" in the media, stating on air that the remarks "really p***ed me off."
Behar also questioned Leavitt's appointment during a broadcast, arguing that she only got her job because of her appearance.
"I think that she's probably been put in there because according to Donald Trump, she's a ten," Behar said.
Hostin similarly took issue with Leavitt's statements regarding younger Americans. After Leavitt claimed that Gen Z and younger Americans had been raised with "silver spoons in their mouths," Hostin fired back, calling the comments "rich" coming from a woman married to a real estate multimillionaire decades her senior. Leavitt's husband, Nicholas Riccio, is 60.
Rosie O'Donnell returns as anniversary guest
Leavitt was not the only figure linked to potential panel changes ahead of the landmark season. Former host Rosie O'Donnell announced earlier this month that she will return to the show for the upcoming 30th anniversary special.
O'Donnell, 64, previously served as a host on the daytime program twice, first from 2006 to 2007 and then from 2014 to 2015, leaving each time after a single season. Speaking on the podcast The Tangle, O'Donnell clarified her role for the milestone year.
"I will go on the 30th anniversary next year and be on in whatever way they want me, just as a guest," O'Donnell shared during the interview.
"They're bringing back all the hosts, I think, for the 30th season," she added. "And I'm pretty proud of that show, what it's become and how it really speaks to the people and to politics, and that was not the case when I first joined."
Tension with Whoopi Goldberg and summer return
Reflecting on her past tenure on the panel, O'Donnell discussed her history of tension with Goldberg, whom she described as "somebody I admire." O'Donnell recalled having high expectations for their collaboration that ultimately fell short.
"I had expected that we would be like Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan, passing the ball back and forth and then shooting and leading the team to victory. But that's not exactly what happened," O'Donnell said, referencing the legendary Chicago Bulls basketball duo.
Attempting to trace the origin of their bad blood, O'Donnell mused that "maybe she felt encroached upon in some way, and I was never trying to encroach. I was just doing it the way that I knew how to do it and it didn't go so well." O'Donnell specifically noted that Goldberg allegedly took offense when O'Donnell "made the mistake of throwing to a commercial when she was still talking."
O'Donnell recently returned to American television screens as part of a rotating stable of guest hosts on Jimmy Kimmel Live! while host Jimmy Kimmel takes a summer vacation. Her return to late-night hosting follows media coverage in January after she underwent a facial plastic surgery procedure that drew attention for being scarcely perceptible.
Created in 1997 by veteran news anchor Barbara Walters, The View remains one of television's longest-running daytime talk shows, featuring a rotating group of women discussing politics, popular culture, and breaking news. Goldberg has served as the show's moderator since 2007, while Behar was an original panelist at the show's debut.
