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First Posted: 6/14/2014 There&#8217;s a huge void at the infamous table where &#8220;The View&#8221; co-hosts sit each weekday morning at 11. Stalwart journalist and creator Barbara Walters&#8217; chair has yet to be filled and now word has it that Sherri Shepherd and Jenny McCarthy were fired.
Shepherd and McCarthy along with Whoopi Goldberg had carried on with a vast succession of unmemorable guest hosts since Walters retired in May.
Walters remains an executive producer, along with Bill Geddes, and she has the ultimate say on who fills her seat and the others. Elisabeth Hasselbeck&#8217;s chair is still open as well. The show is expected to go into reruns later this summer. A major revamping is planned for the fall. Speculation on new co-hosts has run rampant since even before Walters retired in May. She has even speculated herself, suggesting a position may go to a man.
I say no. Despite enjoying the occasional time when the show would plug Friday as &#8220;Guyday&#8221; and have a male newsman or celebrity fill in, I say the seat belongs to a woman, as that was the original premise. When the show premiered on ABC Aug. 11, 1997, Walters&#8217; aim was to bring together a group of smart, savvy women from different walks of life to share opinions and discuss issues. Its core audience is female.
Names such as Mario Lopez and Jeff Probst have been tossed around. But please, ABC, don&#8217;t Strahanize the weekday mornings any more by having the &#8220;Live with Kelly and Michael&#8221; co-host fill in at 11 when he is also visiting &#8220;Good Morning America.&#8221;
Walters has said the show is lacking a conservative viewpoint now that Hasselbeck was forced off, oops, I mean left of her own accord. I agree. But that ain&#8217;t all it&#8217;s lacking these days.
Seeing the cavalcade of former hosts parade in to bid Walters farewell in spring only reminded some of us how a good show could have evolved if some of those people had stayed. Meredith Vieira, we need your humor in tough times. Lisa Ling, you brought us the younger collegiate viewpoint.
A career woman in her 30s sans children may be a fresh revamp. Or perhaps add someone with a stronger news background than two actresses/stand-up comedians and a former Playboy pinup. Even Joy Behar&#8217;s sarcasm and Rosie O&#8217;Donnell&#8217;s toughness had some charm.
The hallmark of &#8220;The View&#8221; was how it brought together women of different ages and backgrounds to talk with honesty, humor and passion about everything from family to entertainment to politics. The best part was its &#8220;Hot Topics&#8221; opener.
The most infamous &#8220;Hot Topic&#8221; had to be the split screen with O&#8217;Donnell&#8217;s and Hasselbeck&#8217;s political argument. Some considered Hasselbeck&#8217;s politics polarizing, but others are now put off by McCarthy&#8217;s anti-vaccination stance and crass humor.
My &#8220;View&#8221; today is the show is losing its edge and relevance. Obviously, the powers-that-be agree with me.
So who could replace Babs and the others? Perhaps a newsie such as Katie Couric or Joan Lunden? Or for a younger demographic, entertainment reporters Maria Menounous and Guiliana Rancic or Fox&#8217;s Megyn Kelly? Or maybe even go a little crazy and try one of Bruce Willis&#8217; daughters with Demi Moore or a singer. Rita Ora?
Just please, no Kris Jenner! And no real (or fake) housewives.
If not for good co-hosts, &#8220;The View&#8221; becomes the usual talk-show fare of celebrity, author, musician plugging her latest release in 60 seconds or less with the standard cooking, health/fitness and fashion segments.
This brings us to &#8220;The View&#8217;s&#8221; big competitor and big ripoff, &#8220;The Talk,&#8221; created by Sara Gilbert in 2010 to provide &#8220;opinions through the eyes of mothers.&#8221; The current talkers are Gilbert, Sharon Osbourne, Julie Chen, Aisha Tyler and Sheryl Underwood.
&#8220;The Talk&#8221; went through a rough first year but has steadily increased its ratings. Still, it has the awkward time slot of 2 p.m.
But sometimes these ladies have a more enthusiastic &#8220;View&#8221; of what&#8217;s going on in our world than Sherri, Whoopi or Jenny did. Holding off on filling those vacant chairs until fall might prove a big mistake. By then, will anyone care?

Wanted: a new ‘View’ post-Babs