NBCUniversal will launch a new syndicated daytime talk show hosted by former “Today” co-anchor Meredith Vieira in the Fall of 2014.
“The Meredith Vieira Show” will originate from New York City, and will tape on a set designed to look like Vieira’s home, “complete with her actual furniture and family photos,” NBCU says. A pilot for the program was taped in May, and is said to have gone very well.
The move is not a surprise. When Vieira left “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” earlier this year, TVNewser speculated that she was pursuing a daytime talk show. A week later, the NY Times‘ Brian Stelter confirmed that she was talking to NBC about a possible syndicated show.
“All of us at NBCU are so excited about this new show with Meredith,” said Ted Harbert, chairman of NBC Broadcasting in a statement. “She creates an instant connection with audiences with her smart, quick-witted and down-to-earth style. This entertaining and substantive show will be a great way to reach her loyal daytime fans as well as new ones who will discover why Meredith is one of America’s most loved television personalities.”
Currently an NBC News contributor, Vieira co-hosted “Today” from 2006-2011, and before that was the moderator of “The View.” She began her career at ABC News, and would go on to become a correspondent for both ABC and CBS News, before joining “The View.”
“As a journalist on Today and 60 Minutes, I learned how to really listen to people and help give them a voice. On The View, I unleashed my own opinionated self and discovered the empowerment that comes with sometimes heated, but always respectful, discussion. And on Millionaire, I relished the joy of changing people’s lives while having pure fun,” said Vieira in a statement. “All of these experiences, along with being a wife and mom, have led me here because they all share one common denominator… this fundamental need we have to connect with and find inspiration in each other.”
The deal may also put Vieira in competition with the woman she replaced on “Today,” Katie Couric. Couric’s daytime talk show (produced by Disney/ABC) is returning this Fall, and if it has a good second season, it would likely return for the 2014-2015 season. That said, expectations are high for season two of “Katie,” and it is far from a sure thing that it will return.
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NBCUNIVERSAL DOMESTIC TELEVISION DISTRIBUTION TO LAUNCH NEW MEREDITH VIEIRA DAYTIME SHOW
New Nationally Syndicated First-Run Program, Hosted by Emmy-Award Winning Journalist and TV personality Meredith Vieira, Available to Stations for Launch in Fall 2014NEW YORK, NY – July 9, 2013 – NBC Broadcasting Chairman Ted Harbert today announced that Meredith Vieira, one of America’s most beloved personalities will host her own nationally syndicated daytime show, titled The Meredith Vieira Show. Slated to debut in fall 2014, the daily New York City-based show will be produced and distributed by NBCUniversal Domestic TV Distribution with Vieira also serving as an executive producer.
“All of us at NBCU are so excited about this new show with Meredith,” said Ted Harbert, Chairman, NBC Broadcasting. “She creates an instant connection with audiences with her smart, quick-witted and down-to-earth style. This entertaining and substantive show will be a great way to reach her loyal daytime fans as well as new ones who will discover why Meredith is one of America’s most loved television personalities.”
Taped on a set that resembles her home (complete with her actual furniture and family photos), The Meredith Vieira Show is a multi-segmented, exciting hour that will blend the host’s unique point of view, empathy, and sense of humor with insightful storytelling that will make viewers laugh, learn and feel inspired. Each day, the show will offer an exceptional mix of daytime fun along with feel-good human interest stories from everyday people to celebrity guests who have an important story to tell, lifestyle segments and key topics that highlight Vieira’s warm, relatable and distinctive personality.
“As a journalist on Today and 60 Minutes, I learned how to really listen to people and help give them a voice. On The View, I unleashed my own opinionated self and discovered the empowerment that comes with sometimes heated, but always respectful, discussion. And on Millionaire, I relished the joy of changing people’s lives while having pure fun,” said Meredith Vieira. “All of these experiences, along with being a wife and mom, have led me here because they all share one common denominator… this fundamental need we have to connect with and find inspiration in each other.”
“Each day, I hope to accomplish what I call the three H’s: Heat, Heart and Humor,” said Vieira. “And speaking of the heart, I want to thank my husband, Richard, and kids, Ben, Gabe and Lily for strongly encouraging me to take this incredible opportunity… or else they really just want to get me out of the house.”
With more than two decades of experience, Meredith Vieira has earned numerous awards, including 14 Emmys®, and continues to be a staple on daytime TV. Throughout her successful and diverse broadcasting career Vieira has been a huge part of some of the most successful programs in television history, including “Today,” “Who Wants to be a Millionaire,” “The View,” and “60 Minutes.”
More about Meredith Vieira:
Currently, Vieira serves as a special correspondent for NBC News programming including “Today” and “NBC Nightly News” and also contributes to special network programming including the Olympic Games. Vieira joined “Today” in September 2006 as co-anchor, and was immediately accepted into the ranks of America’s first television family. During her five years at “Today,” Vieira also played a key role in covering the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver with exclusive interviews with the athletes and medalists.Vieira won two Daytime Emmy® Awards for “Outstanding Game Show Host” (2005, 2009) for the nationally syndicated game show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” in which she has served as host for 11 seasons. While at the helm, Vieira has given away over 75 million in prize money with three contestants winning the million dollar prize. With over 2,000 episodes hosted, Vieira holds the record for hosting more episodes of a game show than any other woman in history.
From 1997 to 2006, Vieira served as moderator of ABC’s “The View” where, each day, she led her fellow co-stars in discussions on current issues that ranged from social and political topics to tabloid headlines and celebrity news.
In 1993, she started at ABC when she joined their news division as chief correspondent of “Turning Point,” which debuted in March 1994. Prior to her work at ABC, Vieira spent more than a decade at CBS News, where she garnered five Emmy® Awards for her work as a correspondent on the news magazines “60 Minutes” and “West 57th.”
Vieira is involved with several charitable organizations, including the New York chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society, for which she is also on the Board of Directors. In addition, she is active with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Alzheimer’s Association, Children’s Miracle Network, Clown Care (a program that coordinates hospital visits from specially trained clowns) and the Pajama Program (which provides warm pajamas and new books to children in need in the United States, and around the world).
A native of Providence, R.I., Vieira received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Tufts University in Medford, Mass. She has three children, Ben, Gabe and Lily with her husband, best-selling author and journalist, Richard Cohen.
About NBCUniversal Domestic Television Distribution:
The NBCUniversal Domestic Television Distribution division is responsible for the sales and distribution of NBCUniversal product to broadcast television within the United States. The division develops and produces first-run programming and distributes these shows, along with off-network content, to broadcast syndication. Current first-run broadcast syndicated programming includes “Access Hollywood,” “Access Hollywood Live,” “Maury,” “Steve Harvey,” “The Jerry Springer Show,” “The Steve Wilkos Show” and “Trisha Goddard” as well as weekend syndicated series “On The Money with Maria Bartiromo” and “The Chris Matthews Show.” Current off-network programming includes “30 Rock,” “House,” “Law & Order,” “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” “Monk” and “The Office.”