Shamma blog

O'Donnell to move into Winfrey's Chicago studio

The Chicago studio where Oprah Winfrey tapes her soon-to-end talk show soon will be home to Rosie O'Donnell's latest daytime television effort, which is set to debut on the Oprah Winfrey Network this fall, Harpo Studios announced Tuesday.

The announcement ends speculation about what will become of Winfrey's Harpo Studios on Chicago's West Side when "The Oprah Winfrey Show" ends taping this spring. Winfrey opened the studios in 1990.

"I'm delighted to welcome Rosie to the studio I've called home for so many years," Winfrey said in a statement.

The network announced last summer that O'Donnell would return to television with a one-hour talk show to air on OWN. The network said at the time that the show would be based in New York.

"I can't wait to do my show from Chicago," O'Donnell said in a statement. "It's a dream come true ... beyond the beyond."

O'Donnell previously hosted "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" from 1996 to 2002, earning six daytime Emmy awards. O'Donnell also spent time on "The View."

Harpo Studios presidents Erik Logan and Sheri Salata called the announcement "an exciting new chapter" for the company.

The final original episode of Winfrey's show, which has been on the air for 25 years, is scheduled to air May 25.

___

Online: