Is yet another cast shakeup coming to The View?
That’s the claim coming from Variety, which asserts the troubled daytime chatfest is planning to send two of its current co-hosts packing: actress Rosie Perez and political commentator Nicolle Wallace.
Both Rosie and Nicolle were brought in at the beginning of last season (the first without original star/creator Barbara Walters), at the same time as View returnee Rosie O’Donnell, who abruptly quit the show just a few months after rejoining it.
According to Variety, panicked execs are looking at another major revamp in an attempt to stop the show’s sluggish ratings from falling even lower.
“One or both women could be dropped because network execs are underwhelmed with their contributions to the show’s signature Hot Topics segment, which is expected to shift focus permanently toward more lighthearted celebrity fluff,”; says Variety.
Perez in particular has been the subject of firing rumours already, with gossip circulating that she wouldn’t return to the show while taking a break to appear on Broadway in Larry David’s Fish in the Dark (the rumours turned out to be false; she returned as scheduled, and has been on the show ever since).
Just a few weeks ago, former Cosby Show kid Raven-Symone was brought onboard as a permanent co-host, while moderator Whoopi Goldberg is said to be in no danger of getting fired.
Variety notes that a spokesperson for ABC News “declined comment,”; while reps for Wallace and Perez have yet to respond.