From Wikipedia:
The View is an American talk show broadcast on American Broadcasting Company as part of ABC Daytime. Created by Barbara Walters and Bill Geddie, who both also serve as the show's executive producers, the program features a panel of women as co-hosts. Currently, Whoopi Goldberg moderates discussions while the rest of the panel consists of Joy Behar, Elisabeth Hasselbeck,Sherri Shepherd and Barbara Walters.
Since debuting in 1997, The View format has been replicated around the world.
The View premiered August 11, 1997 replacing Caryl & Marilyn: Real Friends, which was dropped due to low ratings.[1][2] The original set was a leftover set from a cancelled soap opera, The City;[3] ABC introduced a new set for The View for its fifth season, located within the ABC Television Center in New York City.
A New York Times review published ten days after the show premiered, describes what critic Caryn James thought was distinctive about the show:
The idea of women talking to one another on daytime television is not exactly radical. The idea that those women should be smart and accomplished is still odd enough to make The View seem wildly different. It actively defies the bubbleheads-'R'-us approach to women's talk shows.... [4]
