‘The View’ Celebrates 29-Year Anniversary With Barbara Walters Tribute
‘The View’ Celebrates 29-Year Anniversary With Barbara Walters Tribute
Martin HolmesWed, August 12, 2026 at 12:30 PM UTC
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Barbara Walters - Steve Fenn / © ABC / courtesy Everett collection
The View has started the celebrations early for its upcoming 30th season by sharing a sweet tribute to the show’s founding co-host, Barbara Walters.
August 11 marked the 29-year anniversary of the talk show’s very first episode, and The View‘s official Instagram page paid tribute to Walters, the woman who created the program. Walters launched the show in 1997, serving as cohost alongside Meredith Vieira, Star Jones, Debbie Matenopoulos, and Joy Behar, all of whom were featured in the photo posted on Instagram.
“29 YEARS AGO TODAY!” the caption read before sharing a quote from Walters, who died in December 2022 at age 93. “‘I’ve always wanted to do a show with women of different generations, backgrounds and views,’ said the late Barbara Walters on our first show, August 11, 1997. This is that show. We call it The View.'”
The post continued, “Thank you to our loyal viewers for joining us every morning — see you back at the Hot Topics table soon!”
The milestone 30th season is set to return in September, with current cohosts Whoopi Goldberg, Sunny Hostin, Sara Haines, Ana Navarro, Alyssa Farah Griffin, and Behar all expected to be back at the table. However, speculation has begun to spread that hosts from years past may also return to mark the monumental achievement.
Former cohost Rosie O’Donnell kicked off the rumor mill when she claimed during a recent podcast appearance that she would be returning to The View as a “guest” for Season 30. She also said that the show is “bringing back all the hosts, I think, for the 30th season.”
However, The View‘s executive producer, Brian Teta, later stated that O’Donnell hasn’t been formally invited back and that plans are still being made. “We love seeing all the excitement about The View’s 30th,” Teta wrote on X on August 4. “Lots of plans are in the works, but no invites have gone out.”
A representative for O’Donnell told Entertainment Weekly that “there was a mention of inviting some of the hosts back to The View as a guest during Season 30; there has not been a formal ask from the show at this time.” They later added that Navarro approached O’Donnell at her New York City stage show Common Knowledge and “mentioned coming to Season 30 of The View as a guest (at some point during the season).”
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Fans jumped into the comments on the show’s latest Instagram post, many sharing congratulations and excitement for the upcoming season.
“Happy 29 years,” wrote one fan.
“I’ve been a huge fan from the very beginning!!” said another.
Another added, “I’ve been watching since day one! Congratulations.”
“I’ve been watching it ever since. Love it!!!” wrote one commenter.
Original co-host Matenopoulos also commented, writing, “Wow! It’s hard to believe 30 years have passed! My gosh where has the time gone? I still remember that day like it was yesterday. Don’t blink. Time passes too quickly.”
The View, Season 30, Premiere Date TBA, ABC
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
