Hosts for two of daytime and access’ most popular strips have been named, according to reports, but the production companies behind each aren’t confirming yet.

Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik are expected to continue to share hosting duties on the Sony Pictures Television-produced Jeopardy! through this coming season, while Alyssa Farah Griffin, a former Trump staffer, is said to be joining ABC’s The View as the panel’s conservative co-host. Griffin served as Trump’s director of strategic communications. 

“We do not have a co-host announcement to make at this time. Stay tuned,” said a spokesperson for The View after reports of Griffin’s appointment emerged from Variety and other publications. Griffin was a regular visitor to The View last season after the departure of Meghan McCain.

Sony also was not confirming reports that Jennings and Bialik have re-signed for season 39 of the popular access game show.

Jennings, Jeopardy!’s most-winning contestant of all time, has been co-hosting Jeopardy! with Bialik since last September. Jennings first guest-hosted in January 2021 after the death of iconic host Alex Trebek of pancreatic cancer in November 2020. Bialik, star of CBS’ The Big Bang Theory and Fox’s Call Me Kat, did her first guest-hosting stint later that year. 

In August 2021, Jeopardy! Executive Producer Mike Richards was named host, but that did not last long after reports emerged of Richards making statements considered to be misogynistic on a podcast he co-hosted. Richards also had been named a defendant in a discrimination lawsuit that was eventually settled against FremantleMedia North America and The Price Is Right while he was an executive producer on that show.

After Richards was dismissed from his hosting job as well as from his post as executive producer of both Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, Jennings and Bialik stepped in. Michael Davies, who created and executive produced Who Wants To Be a Millionaire, also came on board as interim executive producer. 

Davies, whose production company, Embassy Row, was bought by Sony in 2009, was named permanent executive producer of Jeopardy! in April. Jennings and Bialik have switched back and forth as Jeopardy! hosts  -- and as Bialik’s production schedule on the just-renewed Call Me Kat allows -- ever since. 

Sony also plans to debut Celebrity Jeopardy! on ABC later this year, with Bialik as host.

The View generally operates with a rotating panel of hosts, but should Griffin be made official, she’ll be joining Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin and Ana Navarro for the show’s 26th season starting in September. ■

The View backtracked Monday, revealing that host Sunny Hostin and guest host Ana Navarro do not have COVID-19, saying that the pair’s positive results on Friday turned out to be false after all of the show’s hosts underwent many rounds of testing over the weekend.

“I am thrilled to report that Sunny and Ana’s results turned out to be false positives and everyone is safe, healthy and COVID-free. No one’s got it. It was a mistake of some sort,” host Joy Behar said when the show opened on Monday.

Vice President Kamala Harris was scheduled to be on ABC's daytime talker on Friday, but she never came to set or interacted with any of the hosts after the test results were known. Harris ultimately called in remotely to appear on the show.

“It was just an unbelievable set of circumstances and we found out moments before we came back on the air,” executive producer Brian Teta said on Monday. “In that moment, all I could think about is that we had to keep the hosts safe and the Vice President safe. She could not walk out no matter what. That led to some really awkward television that I would like to have back if I could.”

After Behar announced on Friday that Hostin and Navarro had tested positive and had to leave, Behar and co-host Sara Haines took questions from the audience until Harris could appear. 

The positive results led to a busy weekend for all four hosts, during which “we were all given numerous, numerous covid tests,” said Behar. 

While Hostin and Navarro were relieved that the results were false, the false positives had short-term consequences for both women. 

Navarro was the subject of a negative tweet from Donald Trump Jr., who tweeted “given the Ana Navarro news, I think this is a time to have a national conversation about Covid and obesity.”

“Apparently, he thought it was appropriate to take advantage of the false news that I had Covid to take a shot at my weight," Navarro said on Monday. "Babe, I take a shot at my weight every day. Like you, I have a mirror and I know I have a weight issue."

She then fired back at Trump Jr., saying, “I know that when you are a dimwit, with no skill or talent or significant accomplishments, living off your father’s name and fame and fortune, you’ve got to draw attention to yourself. If you want to have a conversation about Covid and obesity, you could have had it last October, when your elderly, obese father had it. So it is a legitimate conversation to have, and fortunately for you, you have got somebody in your family who you can call and discuss it with. Because, imagine having a father whose butt is the size of a studio apartment in New Jersey, you got the gall to pick on me?”

Hostin said the test results caused immediate issues for her family. Her husband, a surgeon, had to immediately be pulled out of the operating room, while her daughter was pulled out of school and tested and her parents were both rushed to be tested. It also was an emotional result for Hostin because she recently gave the eulogy at an in-law’s funeral. 

Hostin also said that while she received an outpouring of love and support, she also received some hate tweets and calls. 

“When you meet your maker, you’ll have to figure that out with them,” Hostin said.

The View ladies then invited Harris to come back and sit with the entire panel when her schedule permits. 

The View pulled host Sunny Hostin and guest host Ana Navarro off the air after the two tested positive for breakthrough cases of COVID-19 ahead of an appearance on Friday by Vice President Kamala Harris.

The decision to remove Hostin and Navarro came on live TV, with Joy Behar announcing what was happening after the two were asked to depart. 

“So since this is going to be a major news story any minute now, what happened is that Sunny and Ana both apparently tested positive for COVID,” Behar said. “No matter how hard we try these things happen, they probably have a breakthrough case, and they’ll be okay, I’m sure, because they are both vaccinated up the wazoo.

“The VP is being prepped for her arrival. They cleaned the table, they did the hands, everyone is getting all cleaned up and she’ll be out here in a second.”

Behar then opened up the floor to questions from the audience for either her or remaining host Sara Haines. 

Once Harris came on, she encouraged everyone to get vaccinated.

“I’ve been watching, like many of you, with heartache, with the videos of people who are in an ICU bed, who did not get vaccinated, pleading with their family members, ’please get vaccinated,’ ” Harris said. “You know, when I think of it in the context of any one of us who have had these awful experiences of holding the hands of a loved one who is in an ICU bed, or is near death — like, don't put your families through that. The vaccine is free. It is safe, and it will save your life. So folks just need to get vaccinated.”

Panel talk show The View airs live at 11/10 a.m. ET/CT on ABC on the East Coast and live to tape in Mountain and Pacific time zones. 

Whoopi Goldberg has signed on to host ABC’s The View for another four years, taking her through this season, the show’s 25th, through the show’s 28th season.

A spokeswoman for ABC had no comment.

Goldberg hosts the morning talk show along with Joy Behar -- one of the show’s original panelists who departed The View in 2013, guest-hosted on and off for two years and returned in 2015 -- Sara Haines and Sunny Hostin. 

The Hollywood Reporter first reported the deal. 

Comings and goings are common on The View’s panel, with Meghan McCain announcing in July that she was departing the show. McCain’s mother, Cindy, will guest-host the program on Oct. 6, according to THR. 

Meghan and Cindy McCain, daughter and mother of the late presidential candidate and Arizona senator John McCain, number among the show’s conservative-leaning panelists. Other conservatives slated to join the program are former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Oct. 20, Utah congresswoman Mia Love, former Hewlett-Packard CEO and presidential candidate Carly Fiorina, and former Fox & Friends host and Fox whistleblower Gretchen Carlson among others. 

The View, which was created and developed by Barbara Walters and Bill Geddie, debuted its 25th season on Sept. 7. It averaged a 1.7 live plus same day household rating, according to Nielsen Media Research, and 2.28 million viewers in the week ended Sept. 12.

The View is executive produced by Brian Teta.

Updated: Thursday, July 1, 2021 at 11:30 am ET

Meghan McCain is leaving The View at the end of this season, she announced on Thursday’s show.

“For the past four years, Meghan McCain has brought her fierce determination and vast political knowledge and experience to The View. She recently came to us with her decision to depart the show at the end of this season, a difficult choice that she made for her and her family that we respect and understand. We wish the best for Meghan as she plans her next chapter, and thank her for the passion and unique voice that she shared with us and our viewers each day,” said ABC in a statement.

McCain, daughter of the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), has been part of The View’s panel of women since October 2017. The show’s current panel is composed of Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin and Sara Haines. 

McCain has occupied the role of conservative firebrand on the daytime talker, which has become a necessary stop for campaigning politicians. Many of the spats McCain has gotten into with guests and co-panelists have gone viral across social media, helping to lift the show’s ratings. 

According to Variety, McCain moved to Washington, D.C. during the pandemic and does not want to return to New York when the show resumes filming live there in September. During the pandemic, the hosts were calling in on Zoom from their homes.

McCain joined The View from Fox News, where she frequently contributed to the program Outnumbered. She departed Fox News in September 2017. Before that, she contributed to The Daily Beast and MSNBC and worked for the now-defunct cable network Pivot. She first came to public attention when she blogged about life on the campaign trail during her father’s presidential run against Barack Obama in 2008.

Fox News has welcomed back television host Jedediah Bila, signing the former The View co-host to a contributor role.

Bila first joined Fox News as a contributor in 2013, appearing regularly on FNC’s Outnumbered and The Five, where she provided analysis on the top news stories, controversies and issues of the day.

Most recently, Bila served as co-host of ABC’s The View, which earned her two Daytime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host, according to Fox.

“Over the years, Jedediah has built a strong relationship with our audience through her unique perspective on the big issues of the day,” said Lauren Petterson, Senior Vice President of Morning Programming & Talent Development for the network in a statement. “We’re excited to welcome her back to the FOX News family.”

Bila added: “I’m very excited to re-join the Fox News family, the place I started my TV career. I’m really looking forward to this new chapter and all that’s to come.”

Raven Symoné captured viewers' hearts in the late 1980s and early 1990s as an adorable child star who appeared in numerous TV shows and moves, most notably as adorable Olivia Kendall on The Cosby Show.

As an adult, Symoné has garnered success as a singer/songwriter and actress, and in 2015 was named as a co-host on ABC's popular daytime talk show The View. Currently, she serves as executive producer of Disney Channel's Raven's Home, a spinoff of her hit Disney series That's So Raven.

MCN Original Videos caught up with Symoné for a 2017 video interview in which she talks about the not-so-easy transition from child actor to adult media superstar. 

Disney Channel will revive its popular series That’s So Raven with series star Raven-Symoné, who today announced her departure from The View to work on the series, Disney said Thursday.

Raven-Symoné will reprise her iconic character Raven Baxter for the untitled spinoff series and serve as executive producer, said Disney. In the new series Baxter is a divorced mother of two pre-teen kids, one of whom has inherited her ability to catch glimpses of the future. The network has already begun preliminary casting for the series.

That’s So Raven aired on Disney Channel from 2003-06 and during its run was one of Disney Channel’s most watched shows.  

"Raven's brilliant style of fearless comedy was a driving force for Disney Channel's success around the world,” said Adam Bonnett, executive vice president of original programming for Disney Channels Worldwide in a statement. “Her performance in That's So Raven is timeless. We now have our eyes on the future with her, and we're looking forward to telling more stories for a new generation with an adult Raven Baxter raising her young family."

Actress/producer Whoopi Goldberg has teamed with Oxygen to develop Strut, a reality series that follows the lives of several transgender models that premieres on the network Sept. 20. Goldberg, Strut’s executive producer, recently spoke with Multichannel News programming editor R. Thomas Umstead about the show, as well as her key role in ABC’s daytime talk show The View, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. An edited excerpt follows.

MCN:What should viewers expect fromStrut?

Whoopi Goldberg: It’s kind of amazing. Most people don’t realize that there have been transgender models for years. We’re dealing with real people in the show. We deal with parents and kids and brothers and sisters, and religion, as these folks are trying to find their way on the runway. We’re trying to hit on a lot of different levels while understanding that this is not something new.

MCN:It’s not something new, but it may be new to many Oxygen viewers. Do you have any concerns about what viewer reaction will be to these young men and women profiled in the series?

WG: I don’t. People will either get it or they won’t. We’re hoping that this will help reach people who may not be aware of it, but also people who are struggling with it. One of the things that people keep saying is “God doesn’t make mistakes” … I always say, “God does not make mistakes, but Mother Nature will mess with you forever.” We get quadruplets and twins — we have hermaphrodites that are born.

There are so many things that happen to us as human beings that when someone says, “I don’t think I’m in the right body,” why would you doubt that? It’s not like it’s going to make them popular; they do it because they realize that there’s some difference that they need to deal with.

We see what happens when people are closed off to folks who are different — there’s a high rate of suicide, we get a high rate of folks working in the sex industry because no other industry is accepting. What they don’t realize is that they’ve known folks like this for a very long time, whether its male-to-female or vice versa. So we’re not telling you what to think — we just want you to know that you need to be aware when talking to people that you have to be respectful.

MCN:What does Oxygen bring to the table?

WG: The ability to put it on the air without anyone going, “Can you make them more like women?” They didn’t do any of that. They thought that this was an important conversation to have given what’s going on in the world. These are folks who have been modeling for a while, and it’s pretty brave to let folks know who you are, where you are going and what your dreams are. That’s what this is about. We didn’t want anything salacious.

MCN:Do you see this show potentially reaching beyond Oxygen’s traditionally female-skewing audience?

WG: I do. There are a lot of folks that we will never know that are affected by this very issue, whether they’ve begun the transition, or they’re thinking about it or want to talk to someone about it, or are looking for answers. We may be able to help them and make them feel better about the world they’re living in. We can say, “You’re not alone — we’re here and here’s what people are doing to change the conversation.” I’m really proud of all of our models, because it’s not an easy thing to come out and say that I’m different — here’s what I’m going through and here’s why I’m going through it. Here’s what I believe, and I have a parent that believes something different. I hope people will watch it with an open mind and an open heart.

MCN:I’d be remiss if I didn’t congratulate you on the 20th anniversary ofThe View. Did you thinkThe Viewwould reach the 20-year mark when you started?

WG: I had no idea how long I’d been on the show. (Laughs.) This was Barbara Walters’s idea, so congratulations to her.

MCN:Do you thinkThe Viewhas transcended the talk show category and become more of a trend-setter for the genre?

WG: I came to it late and I never watched it before I became involved in it, so I don’t know where they came from. I think it has spawned a lot of other shows, but they can’t do what that show does. That show has the ability to talk about everything from sex to politics, and everyone has a different opinion. I see lots of people trying to do it, but I don’t see anyone doing it as well as The View has.

Cooking Channel adds another celebrity to its original series portfolio with the August launch of Holy & Hungry starring TV personality Sherri Shepherd.

The series, which premieres Aug. 23, will follow former The View co-host Shepherd as she travels the country to visit food establishments that share her passion for food and faith, according to network officials.

"Holy & Hungry celebrates something that people of all religions enjoy - delicious food," said Michael Smith, General Manager and Senior Vice President, Cooking Channel. "The unique lens of faith to explore food is unlike any other series on Cooking Channel, and Sherri Shepherd's appreciation and ability to relate to the faithful people spreading their love for their faith through their food, makes her the perfect host."

Shepherd follows other celebrities such as Tia Mowry, Chrissy Tiegen, Anthony Anderson and Rev. Run and other celebrities who have had cooking shows on the channel.

Former Disney Channel star Raven-Symoné has been named as a co-host for ABC’s daytime talk show The View, ABC announced Monday.

Symoné will replace Rosie O’Donnell on The View effective immediately, joining co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg, Nicolle Wallace and Rosie Perez.

 Symoné, who starred in Disney Channel’s hit series That’s So Raven in the early mid-2000s, will return to the network this summer in a guest starring role for the network’s series K.C. Undercover, starring Zendaya. Symoné has also recently appeared on episodes of Black-ish and Empire.

 “Raven is smart, funny and genuine. We’ve loved getting to know her, and we’re all thrilled she’ll be part of The View every day,” said Executive Producer Bill Wolff in a statement. “She brings a fresh perspective on the hot topics of the day, and she’s a lively, welcome addition to our conversations and interviews.”