Comedian Rosie O'Donnell to host new chat TV show on Oprah Winfrey's OWN channel

By Daily Mail Reporter


Getting on board: Oprah Winfrey and Rosie O'Donnell pose at the launch party for 'O - The Oprah Magazine' in New York back in 2000


Rosie O'Donnell is set to host a new show on Oprah Winfrey's OWN channel.

The actress and comedian will base the new hour-long talk show at Oprah Winfrey's soon-to-be vacated space at Harpo Studios in Chicago.

It will start airing this autumn, with Oprah today saying in a statement that she was 'delighted' Rosie was joining the network.


'I'm delighted to welcome Rosie to the studio I've called home for so many years,'
said Winfrey, who has announced her final show will be on May 25, ending her 25-year run as the queen of daytime talk.

Winfrey's OWN cable television network debuted January 1 in about 80 million homes.

O'Donnell, 49, who is also an author and activist, won six Daytime Emmy awards for her syndicated TV talk show that ran from 1996 to 2002.

'Harpo is a world class studio and I can't wait to do my show from Chicago,' O'Donnell said in a statement. 'It's a dream come true.'

O'Donnell currently hosts a two-hour radio show, Rosie Radio, on Sirius XM Radio.

She squabbled with co-host Barbara Walters during a brief stint on ABC's The View, on which she appeared after Meredith Vieira left the show and before Whoopi Goldberg joined.

Besides producing The Oprah Winfrey Show, Harpo Studios helped develop the shows Dr. Phil and Rachael Ray.

The studio also produces The Dr. Oz Show and The Nate Berkus Show.

'Speaking from experience, she will be working with the best team in television in one of the greatest cities in the world,' Winfrey said.

A new set will be built for O'Donnell while some elements of Winfrey's stage set will go to the Smithsonian Institution, the studio said.

There has been concern in Chicago about the fate of Harpo's near West Side studios and those employees who do not join Winfrey in California.



source:dailymail