“The View” has been on television for over 25 years, and has evolved into a top-rated, politically charged, headline-making bastion of opinions by women of various backgrounds.
But according to one of its original co-hosts, that was never the plan.
Debbie Matenopoulos, who appeared during its first two years, says the Emmy Award-winning Barbara Walters-created talk show was “just have a bunch of women sitting around, from different generations, different backgrounds, and different views, that would talk about topics of the day.”
The former MTV production assistant was tapped by the television news trailblazer to represent a young voice to the show’s original lineup, which consisted of Walters, Meredith Vieira, Star Jones-Reynolds and Joy Behar.
“The show has become super political now, but it wasn’t supposed to be political,” she told the “Allison Interviews” podcast in a Tuesday episode. “It was just meant to be, ‘Here’s your mom, your grandmother, your aunt, your cousin, your younger sister, all sitting there chatting about the same topic. And they are all going to have different ideas, because they are coming from different generations and different backgrounds.’ It was about having a fun conversation and seeing where it comes out, and for all of us to learn from one another.”
Matenopoulos, now 47, got the boot from the ever-evolving chatfest after just two seasons, and later hosted E!’s “The Daily 10″ and Hallmark’s “Home & Family.”
After Matenopoulos created the archetype for the younger voice on the panel-formatted daytime series, her seat was filled by many others throughout the years, including Lisa Ling, Jenny McCarthy, Raven-Symone, Michelle Collins and Sara Haines.
Often considered “the wild child,” Matenopoulos reflected on her party-girl persona, which said she knew embarrassed Walters at the time.
She thinks her behavior would translate better in 2022 since the show has transitioned from its milder-leaning tone.
“Now it’s different. Now people say the craziest stuff, and the crazier the better, and people like that because it garners publicity and people love that. It goes viral,” she said. “Back then, they wanted to sweep everything under the rug. They were like ‘Yes, we like you, but just be you … with a little less you. There is so much you, and we’re not sure if daytime TV is ready for all of that.’ Then the Kardashians came, and all this craziness, and I was thinking, ‘I wasn’t nearly as wild as they were.’ "
Since “The View’s” 1997 inception, other daytime roundtable talk shows such as the Los Angeles-based, non-political CBS take “The Talk,” and millennial-focused “The Real” have been introduced and thrived.
Casualties of the then-groundbreaking format included the all-Black “Sisters Circle” and short-lived “Oh, Drama” and an all-male attempt called “The Other Half.”
NBC’s “Today” morning franchise attempted a knock-off in 1999 — co-hosted by Jodi Applegate, Florence Henderson and Asha Blake — which only lasted two seasons.
“Nothing like ‘The View’ ever existed before, but now you see so many imitations have come after,” Matenopoulos said.
“It was an experiment and something she had wanted to do for years, and she finally was at a place in her life and had enough respect at ABC that they would allow her to do this,” the married mother of one said of Walters’ idea for the show.
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