Rosie O’Donnell’s forthcoming talk show will be squarely positioned as a suitable replacement for Oprah Winfrey, her producers said on Monday, adding a new twist in an effort by local stations to revamp their lineups in a post-Winfrey era.
On Monday, the producers, Dick Robertson and Scott Carlin, confirmed reports that they have formed a company with Ms. O’Donnell to syndicate a talk show to TV stations beginning in September 2011, the same month “The Oprah Winfrey Show” ends.
Mr. Robertson predicted that the O’Donnell show would “wind up in the Oprah time period in a lot of cities.”
“This is a once-in-25-years opportunity,” he said. “There is this gaping hole starting in September of 2011 when Oprah goes away. Who better to fill it than Rosie?”
Contradicting speculation last weekend when the talk show plans first surfaced, Mr. Robertson and Mr. Carlin said they do not envision a politically charged program from Ms. O’Donnell, a comedian who has made no secret of her liberal views.
“She’s going to do a big, commercial, fun, uplifting show,” Mr. Robertson said, contrasting it with her time on “The View” three years ago, when she attracted attention and criticism for her passionate rebukes of the Bush administration.
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