Oct 02 2008
Rosie O’Donnell Gets Another Shot At Television
Rosie O’Donnell is back at it again. NBC has announced that the comedian and perennial television star has been tapped to host a variety show in November which may turn into another full time gig for O’Donnell.
“Rosie’s Variety Show” will air during the Thanksgiving holiday season and will feature live musical acts, celebrities, comedy skits, and prize give aways to the audience. The network is hoping to capitalize on the recent popularity of live programming, with shows such as “American Idol” and “America’s Got Talent” drawing huge numbers of viewers.
NBC is also hoping to capitalize on O’Donnell’s still strong popularity. The former talk show host won five Emmy awards for her “The Rosie O’Donnell Show” which ran from 1996 to 2001. And her short stint as a co-host of “The View” from September ‘06 to May ‘07 helped increase that show’s ratings by nearly 30% from the previous year.
Craig Plestis, a vice president with NBC says, “This will reinvent the idea of what a variety show is for 2008.”
