For both the fans and critics who tune into ABC’s weekly women-driven talk show, Tuesday’s episode probably stood out — but not for the show’s usual antics.
No, Tuesday’s episode raised all sorts of eyebrows because of what the show didn’t do, which is put out its normal panel of co-hosts.
As the show opened with some graphics about reactions to the polarizing pardon of first son Hunter Biden, the co-host introductions gave away that something was (very) different about this show.
Yes, typical co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg and Sunny Hostin were there.
But nowhere to be seen were the other usual suspects on the show: Joy Behar, Sara Haines and Alyssa Farah Griffin.
In their place were former “The View” co-host Abby Huntsman and “Bachelorette” star Rachel Lindsay — both of whom were apparently called in at the last minute.
“If you’re wondering what’s going on, there’s nothing wrong with your television set,” Goldberg said at the outset of Tuesday’s episode. “Joy is not here. Sara is not here, and Alyssa is not here today.”
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After introducing Huntsman, the former-and-substitute “The View” co-host claimed that she was “in my sweatpants, cleaning up mac and cheese off the floor” when she got the call to jump in.
Huntsman added: “[Show producer Brian Teta] is like, ‘We’re in a pinch!’”
Entertainment Weekly chronicled some of the reasons for the absences, though some mystery still surrounds Behar.
Griffin had previously revealed that she was likely to miss Tuesday’s episode due to ongoing IVF treatment.
Haines, meanwhile, effectively called out sick on Monday, so it seems likely Tuesday’s absence is related to that.
Behar missed Monday’s episode because that’s one of her normal days off, but no explanation was given for why she missed Tuesday’s episode.
While the show has denied them, reports have been circulating for some time now that “The View” is preparing to undergo drastic changes, including going so far as to include voices that are actually friendly towards President-elect Donald Trump.
To varying degrees, all of the current co-hosts of “The View” have generally disparaged Trump, his administration, and his supporters on the Monday-through-Friday daytime talk show.
