Sherri Shepherd could be making a return to The View this fall in an effort to save the failing show, Mail Online reports.
Daily Mail Online has learned exclusively that the Emmy-winning TV talent has inked a deal with ABC, according to sources close to the show, to return to struggling daytime talk show on a part-time basis starting this fall.
Shepherd is one of The View’s new rotating hosts that will sit in the fifth position on the show, a new concept ABC hopes brings fresh energy to the long-running panel series. According to an insider, the current plans are to have Shepherd co-host at least twice a week.
The 48-year-old comedienne returned to The View for the first time since leaving in August 2014 on May 28 to rave reviews from ABC News executives.
‘Though the show was taped in advance and Whoopi Goldberg was out dealing with the death of her brother, everyone was blown away by how Sherri brought the energy of a live broadcast to the taped show. She had been so missed by the producers that many of them cried when she walked in the building,’ a network source told Daily Mail Online.
Shepherd joined The View during its highest-rated season in 2007 and co-hosted for seven seasons. She won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host during her tenure, but left the show in August 2014 after failing to come to terms contractually with ABC.
As reported by Vanity Fair, Shepherd was seeking a raise and shorter contract term from ABC, who refused to give her additional salary and wanted her to sign a long-term deal. In the end, she left with Jenny McCarthy and several of the senior producers after season 17.
‘The excitement over asking her to return began as soon as her May 28 episode aired. ABC was insistent on making things work this time,’ the source added.
If you ask us, The View needs a complete top-to-bottom makeover if it has any chance at surviving a few more seasons.
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