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Entertainment | 10/08/2008 7:50 am

Rosie O'Donnell's New Variety Show to Air Next Month

By The Staff at wowOwow.com
© AP

Rosie O’Donnell is coming back to TV.

The former fleeting “View” moderator will do a variety show on NBC. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that her first show will air November 26 as a special. If the ratings are good, the network may expand it to a weekly series.

But don’t expect Rosie to get all fired up over politics and the GOP. NBC has a deal with her to keep the topics light and entertaining – and not in a catfighting sort of way.

The program reportedly will feature celebrity guests, comedy sketches, music acts and prize giveaways. O’Donnell will executive produce the NBC show with David Friedman, who also produced “Last Call with Carson Daly.”

"We want to show people that variety can be done in a new and inventive way for 2008," said Craig Plestis, NBC Entertainment’s executive vice president for alternative programming, development and specials. "We hope to do it in ways you haven’t seen before. It’s going to be the YouTube of variety shows."

13 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

E .
I’ll be tuning in! Rosie O’ has a tremendous affection for people, a larger than life stage presence, has an innate comedic gift and so she makes a wonderful host for this sort of format. Keeping politics off the agenda is a wise choice for Rosie O’ - surely she knows by now that she leads best by her good example and not impassioned discourse. If you’re reading this Rosie - Congratulations! I wish you all the best.
By E . on 10/08/2008 8:49 am
Tee Zee
Can’t wait!
By Tee Zee on 10/08/2008 9:30 am
OMGIAMGOING NUTS
Hope it’s “G” rated so we can watch this as a family. It’ll be nice to see something a bit different. I recall when Ellen did a variety show and it was great. Looking forward to it.
By OMGIAMGOING NUTS on 10/08/2008 9:33 am
Lorraine Bates
I hope people will tune in. Rosie lost her “queen of nice” title after her daytime show ended and she got critical, and her stint on The View didn’t help. She’d better stay away from politics and Donald Trump!
By Lorraine Bates on 10/08/2008 10:21 am
Belinda Joy
Rosie is unfortunately a polarizing figure. There are celebrities that you don’t know a drop of their personal life. Nothing. What their spouse and kids are like? What their political affiliations are? Books they read, music they listen to, temperament….nothing. Those are the celebrities that in my opinion fair the best among society. It’s the ones where you know EVERYTHING there is to know about them that tend to be polarizing. She’s Gay, struggles with depression, is liberal beyond words and has a very masculine persona….all of these attributes can be controversial. If you’re open minded and accepting, who she is as a person is a non issue. But as we learned from her stint on The View, even when the subject isn’t politics, we tend to view her through a filter of all the attributes I addressed above. We must remember, back when she had her own talk show, all of the Gay issues, depression and political views were not in the forefront for her, she kept them behind the scenes. America “wondered” about who she really was as a woman, but didn’t know. When she landed on the view and it was clear who she really was, a lot of Americans were turned off. I’m glad NBC is giving her a shot at redeeming herself and her career. It will be interesting to see how America responds to the new (and very real) Rosie.
By Belinda Joy on 10/08/2008 10:40 am
krayonz Z
Way to go Rosie … the one show I will admit to missing these past few (ahem) years is Carol Burnett’s variety show … I will be eagerly tuning in and wishing her success … hmm, how is Rosie’s Tarzan yell?
By krayonz Z on 10/08/2008 10:43 am
Barbara Taylor
Yes, keep politics out. I miss variety show like The Carol Burnett Show and even Ed Sullivan. A great format to display talent, a lot of fun for the audience. So glad Rosie is putting on a show.
By Barbara Taylor on 10/08/2008 11:17 am
Sherrie Crews
I don’t watch much television anymore bty I’ll definitely try and catch her show. I loved Rosie’s talk show when I did see it and I loved her on the View. I hope this works for her.
By Sherrie Crews on 10/08/2008 12:00 pm
Ms. Dee
This is perfect. She loves musical comedy more than anything she dislikes, so she’ll be at her happy best. Go Rosie!
By Ms. Dee on 10/08/2008 12:23 pm
Pamela Detlor
I’m looking forward to it!!! Go RO!!!
By Pamela Detlor on 10/08/2008 5:36 pm
HA BIBI
I really like Rosie. I think she has one of the biggest hearts around and I gotta admit, that I loved her spoof on the Donald, when she was on the view….Just too funny, still laugh about it when I think of it.
By HA BIBI on 10/09/2008 11:27 am
Dorothy S
Great lady you are Rosie! Stay true to your passions. You almost single -handedly brought braodway plays back to the minds and hearts of the country. The NYC in-crowd never left. Where will your show be located?
By Dorothy S on 10/10/2008 10:45 am
Ro H
Hey Rosie, congratulations! I don’t know if you will remember me, or not. I used to write comments on your website… kidded about our mutual names. Ro? In any case good luck on your new show. I can’t wait to watch. Blessings along the way…
By Ro H on 11/02/2008 9:57 pm