And in a perfect world, I'd get to join the group whenever I wanted...[2]Walters described it as "a talk show featuring four or five women 'of different backgrounds, different generations, and different opinions,' who would discuss the topics of the day, mixing humor with intelligent debate.

"[3] The show begins with a segment that features the panel engaging in a discussion pertaining to subjects ranging from politics to social issues as well as pop culture, commonly referred to as "Hot Topics".

"[10] The 12th season of The View heavily focused on the events surrounding the 2008 United States presidential election and featured politicians John McCain, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama as guests.

[29] During the 33rd Daytime Emmy Awards in April 2006, entertainer Rosie O'Donnell was introduced as a co-host for the show's tenth season;[30] she made her debut on September 5.

[61][62] The 19th season saw the return of Behar as well as the addition of actress Candace Cameron Bure and broadcast journalist Paula Faris as co-hosts alongside Goldberg, Raven-Symoné, and Collins,[63] the lattermost of whom departed in June 2016.

[68] On December 8, Bure left the program, citing the commute between coasts and her commitments to other television projects as reasons;[66] her final episode as co-host aired the following day.

[107][109] During the season premiere on September 15, 2014, the series unveiled its new studio featuring a coffee table-style desk with low-arm chairs, a large video wall, in-the-round audience seating, and an on-camera social media station.

[119] During the 20th-season premiere on September 6, 2016, the show debuted an updated set design with muted colors,[120][121] retooled opening titles with footage of the co-hosts in a loft-like space,[122] as well as a new theme song entitled "World's Gone Crazy", written by Diane Warren and performed by Mary J.

[127] During the pandemic, the co-hosts broadcast from different locations, with Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, Sunny Hostin, Meghan McCain, and Ana Navarro filming remotely, while Sara Haines remained in the studio, where Teta also still produced.

[140] Walters' final appearance as co-host aired the following day; it featured several guests, including Hillary Clinton and television host Oprah Winfrey.

[141] On September 5, 2016, prior to the premiere of Season 20, ABC aired a documentary entitled The View: 20 Years in the Making, which featured notable moments from the show and several personalities involved in its history, hosted by Behar.

[142] On November 8, Behar, Jedediah Bila, Candace Cameron Bure, Sara Haines, and Sunny Hostin hosted a primetime Election Night special of the show, which aired on Lifetime.

[143] On November 11, the series aired a "Flashback Friday" episode, which featured the original panel of co-hosts comprising Behar, Jones, Meredith Vieira, and Debbie Matenopoulos as well as a Veteran's Day tribute.

[147] Other guests included Sherri Shepherd, Tom Bergeron, actresses Ariel Winter, Audra McDonald, and Mandy Moore, actors John Stamos and Eric Stonestreet, and chefs Masaharu Morimoto and Art Smith, with musical performances by singer Andy Grammer and rock band Train.

[149] On November 7, 2019, the series celebrated the airing of its 5,000th episode, with Bill Geddie, businessman Donald Trump Jr., and television personality Kimberly Guilfoyle appearing as guests.

[154][155] On September 24, 2021, Hostin and Ana Navarro were removed from the show mid-broadcast due to testing positive for COVID-19 before a planned in-person interview with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris.

The rest of the episode saw Behar and Haines answering audience questions and Harris appearing from a separate room in the studio building via a video stream during the last ten minutes.

[157] On June 2, 2022, the show aired a taped segment of Behar, Matenopoulos, Jones, and Vieira reuniting to reminisce at Essex Hall, where the original auditions for co-hosts took place.

[1] The show's tenth season was embroiled in controversies,[160] such as O'Donnell "speaking in mock Chinese" as well as her public feud with businessman and later U.S. president Donald Trump.

"[173] Content analysis organization Media Research Center subsequently launched a campaign demanding an apology from Behar and urging viewers to do the same, resulting in 40,000 calls to ABC as well as 6,000 complaints to the show's advertisers.

"[189] The following year, Virginia Heffernan of Slate complimented the chemistry between Walters, Meredith Vieira, Star Jones, and Joy Behar, writing that the women "have eased completely into the stock sensibility of middle-aged talk shows, embracing the imperatives that one be healthy, careful, temperate, charitable, and moderately cutesy while at the same time skeptical, ribald, and world-weary.

"[190] Despite being credited for helping the show achieve higher ratings, Rosie O'Donnell received criticism from "viewers and interest groups" that disagreed with her viewpoints.

[163] Conversely, Helena Andrews of Politico praised O'Donnell for making the show "actually watchable—something no longer relegated to the ether of TiVo or sneaked through head phones at work when we should be watching CNN.

"[191] In 2014, Michael Schulman of The New Yorker highlighted O'Donnell's first tenure, elaborating that she "pushed the limits of what cheery daytime chatter could sustain, and The View became more heated and more interesting as a result.

[196] The New Yorker's Michael Specter asserted that ABC executives "should be ashamed of themselves for offering McCarthy a regular platform on which she can peddle denialism and fear to the parents of young children who may have legitimate questions about vaccine safety" and that her hiring was a "strike against reason and progress and hope.

"[197] Following Walters' retirement, the show became known for constant changes in its lineup of co-hosts,[63][198] including the brief tenures of O'Donnell, McCarthy, Rosie Perez, Nicolle Wallace, and Michelle Collins.

[201] Writing for The New York Times in May 2019, Amanda FitzSimons cited the fascination with the co-hosts as what sets the show apart from other entertainment and news programs and noted that it "remains one of the few places on TV where audiences can watch authentic human drama.

"[202] Lorraine Ali of the Los Angeles Times praised the series for being "one of the few places left on TV where liberal, conservative and moderate voices pose questions that real folks might ask" and generating "raw moments that are as authentic as they are viral.

"[203] In July 2021, Variety columnist Daniel D'Addario found that the show had lost its "crackling electricity" and that the co-hosts had "veered into a place that wasn't even good TV" due to the limitations of taping remotely in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

[32][205] In November 2008, the show's post-election day telecast garnered the biggest audience in its history at 6.2 million in viewers, becoming the week's most-watched program in daytime television.