Rosie O’Donnell Plans Daytime Television Return

Rosie O’Donnell is planning a return to daytime television with a brand new talk show that would team her with some of her past colleagues.

According to an article on HollywoodReporter.com, “The show, hosted by O'Donnell, is eyed for fall 2011 launch, which would coincide with the exit of ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show.’ The news was first reported on Showbiz411.com. The show will be produced independently by a company formed by O'Donnell, [Dick] Robertson and [Scott] Carlin.’”

Robertson is no stranger when it comes to dealing with projects involving O’Donnell. As president of Warner Bros. Domestic TV Distribution, a post he held for 17 years until segueing into an adviser position in 2006, he handled the sales of the “Rosie O’Donnell Show,” which had a six-year run and won a bevy of Emmys which included five consecutive wins for best talk show.

Meanwhile, the target fall 2011 launch time of the new O’Donnell show has the industry wondering if the timing was specifically chosen to make the show a successor to Oprah on the ABC O&O stations.

Yet, those familiar with the world of syndication have dismissed this theory. Reason being that some of the top ABC stations, including those in New York, Chicago and Philadelphia, have already stated that they plan to substitute “Oprah” with news and local programs.

In addition, the fact that O’Donnell is venturing outside of the studio system could mean that she plans to voice her strong political views, which is what got her in hot water on the syndicated show and on ABC’s "The View." With the close watch the FCC has been exhibiting on local stations, picking up O’Donnell’s new show may seem like too big a risk.

This is not the first time that O’Donnell has attempted a comeback. She tried, unsuccessfully, to launch a primetime variety show on NBC, but found that she is better suited to cable, which has begun to expand the talk show genre.