Despite its long-held status as one of the most entertaining and volatile programs on daytime television, few journalists have really committed to taking a deep dive into the inner workings of The View.
Apparently that’s no longer the case.
CNN’s Brian Stelter reports that Variety’s New York bureau chief Ramin Setoodeh has been working on a book about the legendary ABC daytime ensemble show for the past three years that will publish this coming April.
It’s called, Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of The View.
Ladies Who Punch will hit bookstores on April 2, 2019, with St. Martin’s Press as the publisher.
Setoodeh was apparently able to score interviews with nearly every woman who has co-hosted the program over the years (The View is in the midst of its 22nd season).
Setoodeh told Stelter, “The two cohosts who never agreed to sit down with me — even though I’d interviewed them both before — were Whoopi Goldberg and Elisabeth Hasselbeck…Read it and you’ll see why.”
From the Amazon page:
When Barbara Walters launched The View, network executives told her that hosting it would tarnish her reputation. Instead, within ten years, she’d revolutionized morning TV and made household names of her co-hosts: Joy Behar, Star Jones, Meredith Vieira and Elisabeth Hasselbeck. But the daily chatfest didn’t just comment on the news. It became the news. And the headlines barely scratched the surface.
Based on stunning interviews with nearly every host and unprecedented access, award-winning journalist Ramin Setoodeh takes you backstage where the stars really spoke their minds. Here’s the full story of how Star, then Rosie, then Whoopi tried to take over the show, while Barbara struggled to maintain control of it all, a modern-day Lear with her media-savvy daughters. You’ll read about how so many co-hosts had a tough time fitting in, suffered humiliations at the table, then pushed themselves away, feeling betrayed—one nearly quitting during a commercial. Meanwhile, the director was being driven insane, especially by Rosie.
Setoodeh uncovers the truth about Star’s weight loss and wedding madness. Rosie’s feud with Trump. Whoopi’s toxic relationship with Rosie. Barbara’s difficulty stepping away. Plus, all the unseen hugs, snubs, tears—and one dead rodent.
Ladies Who Punch shows why The View can be mimicked and mocked, but it can never be matched.